It's All Hooey
by DisneyFanatic2364
Summary: Tammy doesn't believe her aunts as they tell her about a land filled with talking ponies. But when she's suddenly transported there herself, she begins to think that maybe those stories weren't a bunch of hooey. There she meets six ponies and a certain draconequus and discovers a shocking secret of her past. First MLP fic. Some DiscordxFluttershy.
1. A Trip to the Farm

**I said I wouldn't start any more of these fics until I finished the others, but ugh, the MLP fandom has officially pulled me in. This is my first MLP fic and I know this concept has been used so many times, but I wanted to give it a shot.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony.**

* * *

Tammy glanced out the window of the car, her arms folded across her chest. The city had disappeared and the hills of the countryside came into view. She didn't mind visiting her aunts on the farm. In fact, she loved the farm. It was a nice break from all the city noise and smoke. It was the fact that her father was going on a business trip _again_ and dumping her off.

"Are we there yet?" she groaned.

Her father sighed from the driver's seat. "What does it look like?"

"No."

"Exactly, but we'll be there in a few minutes."

"Do you really have to go?"

"Yes, this is a very important client and this account could mean a raise, possibly a promotion. We could get you that electric guitar you've always wanted."

Tammy sighed.

"What's wrong now?"

"Are you gonna be back in time for my birthday?"

"Of course I will, hon."

"You can't blow it off again. It's my Sweet Sixteen, Dad."

"I promise, I'll be back in time to celebrate your birthday."

"That's what you said last year," she muttered under her breath.

"Okay, we're here."

The car pulled up in front of a large red barn and corral. Riding on a horse was a tall blonde woman in green overalls. When she saw the visitors come out of the vehicle, she jumped off and raced towards them.

"Tammy, Danny!"

She attacked her niece with a hug, which Tammy happily returned.

"It's great to see you again, Aunt Megan!"

The woman pulled away to get a good look at her. "My, my, my. Have you gotten taller? I hear someone's turning sixteen next week! That means you'll be getting your driver's license!"

"Yep! I can't wait!"

"You'll need a car then. Danny, tell me you're getting this girl a car."

"Of course I am," he replied, holding his arms out for a hug. "How are you, sis?"

"Oh, excellent! Moonbeam just gave birth to a new foal last week."

"Really?" Tammy asked excitedly.

"Yes, she's in the barn right now."

Tammy didn't waste a moment to rush inside.

"Where's Molly?" Danny inquired as he got his daughter's luggage out of the car.

"She's out in the orchard."

"Thanks for taking care of Tammy while I'm in Tokyo."

"It's our pleasure. She's always such a big help." Megan's face then turned serious. "Danny, you are going to be home in time for her birthday, right?"

Danny was taking out Tammy's guitar when he paused. "I'll try to make it."

"Danny…"

"I'll try, alright?"

"She's your _daughter_, Danny. Don't stand her up again."

He slammed the trunk closed. "I won't. Listen, I can't stay. My flight's in two hours. Tell Molly I said hi."

He got into the car, but before he drove off, he rolled down the window and looked at his older sister.

"And Megan," he started, "don't talk to Tammy about…_that_ place."

Megan rolled her eyes. "What's the harm in it, Danny?"

"She's too old for that stuff."

"You were there too."

"But that was a long time ago. You can't be telling her things that aren't supposed to exist."

She knelt down to her brother's eye level. "You used to be different, Danny, before Irene passed away."

Danny sighed and sat up straight. "Yes…_before_ then."

Then he rolled up the window and drove away. At that moment, Tammy ran out of the barn.

"Dad, you gotta see it! It's so…"

Then she saw the car disappearing down the road. Tammy's arms drooped.

"Well, goodbye to you too!" she shouted angrily.

Her aunt laid a hand on her shoulder. "He has a flight to catch, hon, but he told me to say he loves you." That was a fib, but she figured Danny would want her to say that. "Hey, Aunt Molly's in the orchard. Why don't you go help her out while I take your bags to your room?"

That lifted Tammy's spirits. "Count me in!"

She bolted towards the field of apple trees and searched excitedly for her younger aunt. Then she spotted her, a woman resembling her Aunt Megan, but a few inches shorter with her hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing pink overalls. She was picking apples from one of the trees.

"Aunt Molly!" Tammy called.

The woman turned and smiled when she saw her niece. "Tammy!" She started climbing down the ladder. "When did you get here?"

"Just now!"

She gave her aunt a hug.

"Oh my," Molly said in awe. "You're getting prettier every day. Why, you look just like your mom." Tammy's smile wavered. "Sorry. Hey, how would you like to help me make some apple pie?"

The teenager started jumping up and down like a schoolgirl. "Yay, my favorite!"

* * *

Later that afternoon, the three ladies were sitting in the kitchen eating the freshly baked apple pie.

"So is your dad going to be here for your birthday?" Molly inquired.

Tammy hung her head. "He says so, but I doubt it."

"I'm sure he'll come home in time," Megan assured her.

"He hardly comes home _at all_! Not for parties, not for concerts, not even for dinner! If I wasn't old enough to take care of myself, I would have called social services!"

"He's a busy man, honey. He's only working so hard so he can take care of you."

"But he never wants to do anything."

"He wasn't always this way," Molly interjected. "Why, back when we were kids, he was always pulling pranks and such. Remember when he made it rain on us?"

"Huh?" Tammy uttered.

"Molly," Megan warned. "You know how Danny hates it when we talk about…"

"Oh, hogwash!" the younger sister exclaimed. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him! You see, Danny convinced one of our pegasus friends to make a cloud rain on us…"

Tammy giggled. "Guys, you know I'm too old for those stories. I know you didn't really go to a land filled with magical talking horses."

"They were _ponies_, and we really did go there."

She laughed some more and started gathering their empty plates. "Come on. You think I was born yesterday? They were fun when I was little, but now it's just kind of silly."

"They are _not_ silly! They really…"

"Just let it go, Molly," her older sister interrupted. "She's never going to believe us."

"I'm going to take Vanilla out for a ride. Is that okay?"

"After eating?"

"You know I never get nauseated, especially when riding on a horse! See ya!"

Megan rolled her eyes. "At least we know she can find some happiness."

"I'm just disappointed that she doesn't believe us," Molly grunted.

Meanwhile, Tammy walked into the barn and found her favorite cream-colored horse. She held out her fist and let the animal sniff it. Then it lowered its muzzle and allowed her to pet it.

"Nice to see you, old girl," she muttered.

The horse whinnied in agreement, which made Tammy smile. Since she was little, her aunts kept telling her stories about a land of ponies who could talk, fly and even do magic. They also had jobs, _real _jobs like baking, teaching and selling things. She used to love those stories, and she still did, in a way. She just didn't want to appear childish. She sighed and stared at her horse friend.

"If only you could talk, girl," she said. "That way I wouldn't feel crazy for talking to a horse. But we both know horses can't talk. And they certainly can't fly or do magic. It would be cool, but horses like that don't exist."

* * *

In the far off land of Equestria, a purple alicorn was in her library, reading a book on myths and legends. She was asked by her mentor, the ruler of all Equestria, Princess Celestia to read this book, because it was possible that some of these legends could be true. The young alicorn read all of them and thought them a bunch of hooey, but one chapter sparked her interest. It was short and vague, which made it all the more intriguing.

A voice interrupted her reading. "Twilight!"

The alicorn turned to face a small purple and green dragon. "What is it, Spike?"

"Have you forgotten?"

He waved a woven basket in front of her face. Twilight gasped.

"The picnic! Oh gosh, I was so wrapped up in this book…"

"So what else is new?"

"Ooh, I'm late! They're gonna be so mad!"

The horn on her head glowed purple and that same purple light enveloped the dragon and he was instantly lifted onto her back. As soon as the door was opened, Twilight spread her large wings and bolted into the sky.

The ponies in the town of Ponyville down below looked up and bowed their heads. Twilight rolled her eyes. Since she had become a princess, many of the ponies were treating her like royalty, even though they had all known her for three years now. At least best her friends still treated her like they always had.

Speaking of which, there they were, two earth ponies, two pegasi and a unicorn sitting on a picnic blanket on a hill. Twilight landed gracefully, panting. She was still getting used to the wings.

"Hi, every pony," she said, lifting Spike off her back with her magic. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's cool, Twilight," the blue pegasus with the multi-colored mane named Rainbow Dash said. "We haven't started eating yet anyway."

"I'm really sorry, though. I was so caught up in reading this book for Princess Celestia that I nearly forgot about the picnic!"

"What book were you reading?" asked the white unicorn, Rarity.

"It's called: _Myths and Legends from Beyond Equestria._"

"Ooh," the earth pony named Pinkie Pie marveled. "What kind of myths and legends? Ghosts? Vampires? Zombies?"

"Those were in there, but they're all nonsense. However, there was one chapter that was particularly interesting."

"Really? Really? What was it about?"

"It was about a creature called a human."

Every pony gasped.

"What's a human?" asked the yellow pegasus, Fluttershy, who knew about nearly every creature in Equestria.

"It's a creature from somewhere beyond Equestria," Twilight explained. "Not much is known about them, except that they walk on two legs and hate it when their other two hooves touch the ground. Also, they seem to come from a land where ponies don't talk."

Every pony gasped again.

"Ponies don't talk?!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "That must be horrible! I know what it's like not to be able to talk, and there are so many things you can talk about that I can't imagine not being able to talk all your life, oh it would just be terrible and…"

"We get it, Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash interrupted.

The orange earth pony, who had been lying against a tree chewing on a piece of grass, lifted her cowgirl hat and said in a southern accent, "I've heard about these critters. My Granny Smith mentioned them once. She said some humans came to Ponyville several years ago, before Big Macintosh and I were even born. Not a lot of ponies knew about them, though."

"No offense, Applejack," the blue pegasus said, "but your granny isn't all there. I mean, come on! What kind of animal walks on only two legs?"

Fluttershy started listing them: "Chickens, birds, sometimes bears and bunnies…"

"And me!" shouted a voice behind her.

The yellow pegasus squealed and hid behind Twilight. She then peered around and saw that the creature that had frightened her had a pony head, a deer antler, a bat wing, a snake tail and various other animal parts. She sighed in relief.

"Oh, Discord. You startled me."

"You invited _him_?" Rarity gasped.

The draconequus rolled his eyes. "What? Still can't get used to the fact that I'm reformed?"

Rainbow Dash narrowed his eyes. "Let's just say we're still having trouble trusting you."

"You did turn my apple orchard into an ice rink, after all," Applejack pointed out.

The Lord of Chaos shrugged. "Fair enough. Now, I heard you were talking about humans?"

"Yeah," Twilight replied. "I read about them in a book. I'm not really sure they exist though."

"What are you talking about? Of course they exist!"

Every pony's eyes widened.

"They do?" Fluttershy asked.

He nodded. "Yes, my dear. In fact, I visited their world in the Dark Ages. It was really quite chaotic back then. They kept calling me…what was that name? It began with an 'S'…"

Rainbow Dash huffed. "Yeah, right. As if there actually is a land where ponies can't talk."

"Nor fly."

The pegasus sat up. "What?! Now I _know_ you're lying!"

"You don't believe me? I'll prove it to you!"

With a snap of his fingers, he vanished, leaving every pony baffled as to where he had gone.

* * *

After her ride on Vanilla, Tammy retrieved her acoustic guitar and notebook from her room and found a place on a grassy hill. Once her instrument was tuned, she started strumming the strings.

"_Here I am,_" she sang. "_Sitting by myself_…no, no. How about…? _I'm all alone here, with no friends._ Ugh!"

She hung her head back. Her dream was to be a singer. She had already written a few songs, but lately, she'd been getting writer's block. She figured coming to her favorite place in the world would change that, but the atmosphere didn't seem to make a difference.

She looked out at horizon, not like the sun was setting or rising. She just stared into space and thought about everything: her dad, her lack of friends, her loneliness. She did not mention that little detail to her aunts, for she didn't want them to worry.

For some reason, she had trouble connecting with others. They thought she was weird, because she spent so much time alone. Being alone helped her to think, but it was also…well, lonely.

She sighed, thinking about the stories her aunts would tell her. They said the ponies there were always eager in making friends with everyone, no matter what their differences. Sometimes, she wished that such a land could exist. Not the part about talking ponies, but the idea that there could be a land where 'anything was possible,' as her aunts would say, just excited her.

Then she had an idea and scribbled in her notebook. She sang the words she had written.

"_Somewhere  
__There's a land of magic  
__There's a land of wishes  
__A land where sunshine  
__Always reigns  
__  
Sometimes  
__I wish I could be there  
__I wish I could see there  
__That land where nothing  
__Is ever the same_."

_Not bad,_ she thought to herself. _It won't win a Grammy, but not bad._

Tammy sighed. "I wish I could go there, if such a place exists."

"Wish granted!"

"What the…?"

She turned around but was blinded by a flash of light.

At the bottom of the hill, Molly was calling her niece down to dinner. When she received no reply, she climbed up angrily to see what was keeping her. The blond woman let out a shriek. All that sat on the hill was an acoustic guitar, a notebook and pencil. Molly knew how important the guitar was to Tammy and that she would never leave it behind!

"Megan!"

* * *

**Excuse my cheesy lyrics. Fun fact: Megan, Molly and Danny were the human characters in the first-generation MLP. Know what you're thinking, but that was the MLP I knew as a kid, though I just love Lauren Faust's version of it! Oh yeah, and Tammy is named after the voice actress for Megan. Also thought it suited.**


	2. Horses Can't Talk

**Whoops, accidentally posted this on a Megamind fic. Hehe.**

* * *

Tammy had lost consciousness after the flash. When she started to wake, she was lying on the ground. She heard several female voices surrounding her.

"I don't believe it!"

"The book was right. They do exist!"

"I told you so!" said a low male voice.

"Ugh," muttered a British-sounding voice. "Look at her mane! It's a rat's nest!"

_Is she talking about my hair?_

"How do we even know it's a she?" asked a rapid, high-pitched voice.

"I don't know," said the male. "Who wants to check?"

"Discord!" an angry, yet honey-like voice shouted.

"I'm only kidding. This one's a female. I felt you could relate if you were the same gender."

"Discord, you have to send her back," said one who Tammy figured was the leader based on her commanding tone. "You've proved your point, but this one's sure to be asking questions!"

"Come now, Twilight Sparkle. I thought you were curious about this species. Don't you want to learn from them?"

"But who knows if they're friendly?"

"My Granny Smith said they mean ponies no harm," said someone with a southern accent.

"Twilight's right," said a raspy voice of indeterminate gender. "Who knows what humans do?"

Tammy let out a groan. There was a gasp.

"Guys, she's waking!" cried the high-pitched voice.

"Whatever happens, girls," said the leader, supposedly called Twilight (_weird name)_, "remember to stay calm."

Tammy rubbed her head as she slowly opened her eyes. When her vision became clear, there was a large pair of blue eyes in her face. Those eyes were attached to a pink head with a fluffy pink hairdo that reminded her of cotton candy. And that head was attached to the pink body of a horse. To her surprise, the horse spoke:

"Hi!"

"Gah!" she screamed, crawling backwards. "What in the…?"

"Whoops! Did I scare you? I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to say hi so we could become best friends forever and…"

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?"

"Talking! Horses aren't supposed to talk!"

"Ahem," said the voice with the southern accent. Tammy turned to realize that the voice belonged to another horse, this one was orange with a blond mane, wearing a cowgirl hat. "The word is _pony_."

This made Tammy scream again and jump back further.

"Oh dear," said the British voice, which turned out to be a white unicorn with a curly purple mane. "I believe we may have frightened her."

The girl's mouth dropped open. "A…uni…uni…"

She was interrupted as a multi-colored horse flew (_flew!_) in her face. "Yes, she's a unicorn! What's the matter? Never seen a unicorn before?"

Tammy said nothing, only stared at the wings.

"What?"

"I must be dreaming," she muttered to herself. "But I don't remember falling asleep. I'm hallucinating! Yeah, that's it! I've gone crazy!"

"You haven't gone crazy."

Tammy then saw who the one called Twilight was and shrieked once she realized that not only was she also a horse, but one with a horn _and_ wings!

"Ohmigod!" she cried rapidly. "Ohmigodohmigodohmigod!"

She stopped as she backed into something. She looked up to meet the face of…_what _is _that thing_?

"You got your wish," the creature said. "No need to thank me."

Tammy felt like fainting, but her first instinct was to get away from the creature. So she jumped up and started to run, but a yellow light encased her and Tammy found that she could not move.

"Now that's rude," the creature said, "leaving without a proper goodbye."

"They really _do _walk on two legs," she heard the British unicorn say.

The purple horse with the horn and wings moved in front of her. "Look, we know you're probably scared and confused, but I assure you, we mean you no harm. Now, we'll let you go and explain everything, but first you have to promise you won't run away."

Tammy stared at the mythical being and made a pointless effort to nod. The horse seemed to get the message and ordered the monster to release her. The girl landed with a thump. She looked around at the horses and screamed to see a small purple and green creature among them.

"Is that a…dragon?" she stammered, pointing a shaking finger.

The tallest creature rolled his eyes. "She catches on quick, doesn't she?"

Tammy finally lost it. "WHERE AM I?! WHO ARE YOU?! _WHAT _ARE YOU?! AND WHAT IS THAT…" she pointed at the creature, "…_THING_?!"

The monster glared angrily. "_THING_?! Do you even know who you're talking to? I'm Discord, Master of Chaos, and I ought to turn you into chocolate milk!"

A yellow winged horse that Tammy hadn't seen earlier flew up to the creature and put a hoof to his lion's paw, which was getting ready to snap.

"Now, now, Discord. What did we say about controlling your temper?"

"But she insulted me!"

"Discord!"

"Fine! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…" The creature then started to calm down and lowered his paw. The winged horse smiled gleefully.

"Anyway," the leader horse said, "to answer your questions, in order, you are in the land of Equestria."

Tammy blinked. Why did that name sound familiar?

"I understand. You've never heard of it. I don't blame you. Apparently, no one in your land thinks ponies can talk. As for who we are, I'm Twilight Sparkle. Excuse me, _Princess_ Twilight Sparkle."

Tammy nodded, finally noticing the crown on her head.

"These are my friends: Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Spike. You've already met Discord. As you can see, he's not a pony, but a draconequus."

She knew immediately she was never going to remember that word. Just then, the one called Pinkie Pie appeared in her face.

"And what's _your _name?"

The girl couldn't find words. "T…T…T…"

Rainbow Dash groaned and slapped the human on the back. "Spit it out!"

"Tammy!" she choked.

"Taffy?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Ooh, I love taffy! It's so sticky and gooey…"

"Not Taffy. _Tammy_!"

"Oh, Tammy! That's a funny name!"

"Pinkie!" Applejack exclaimed.

"N-no," Tammy stammered. "I-it's okay. I'm used to it."

"Are you really a human?" Pinkie inquired. "Are ya, are ya?!"

The pony's face was too close for the girl's comfort. "Y-yeah."

"This is so exciting! I've never had a human friend before! Ooh, we're gonna have so much fun! What do humans do? Do you like cupcakes? I _love_ cupcakes! They're so sweet and cupcake-y!"

Applejack pulled her away. "Pinkie! Give the girl some air! She's probably scared half to death."

Tammy nodded in agreement. She then turned to Twilight. "Um, your highness? You seem to be the only sane one here. Would you please tell me HOW THE HECK I GOT HERE?!" She then realized she had just yelled at a princess and cleared her throat. "If you don't mind, your highness."

Twilight laughed. "Oh please, call me Twilight. I'm afraid that's partially my fault. You see, I read a chapter about humans in a book and was curious about them. Neither of us was sure such beings existed and Discord…well, he wanted to prove they did."

"Well, they do. Can someone pinch me so I can wake up now?"

She shrieked as someone pinched her. It was Pinkie. She wasn't sure how she did that without any fingers.

"I didn't mean that literally! Wait a minute. That actually hurt. That means this is actually…I'm really…"

Then she fainted.

"Oh please," Discord said, rolling his eyes. He then summoned a bucket of water and dumped it on the human. Tammy woke up with a start. Then she screamed and fainted again. Annoyed, Discord summoned a whole waterfall.

"Knock it off, Discord!" Applejack demanded. "Ya gonna drown the poor girl!"

"I don't take orders from you!" the draconequus retorted. A glare from Fluttershy made him cringe. "Her, on the other hand…"

He snapped his fingers and the waterfall vanished. Tammy was soaking wet, coughing out spouts of water. Twilight cast a spell to get her dry. The human stared at the group of not-so-mythical creatures.

"So I'm not dreaming."

Every pony shook their heads.

"So I'm really talking to horses, and unicorns, and pegasuses, and..." she stopped at Twilight.

"Alicorn," she clarified.

"Right."

"And it's _pegasi_," Rainbow Dash said angrily. "And for the last time, we're _ponies_, not horses!"

Tammy simply nodded. "Okay. I guess my aunts weren't crazy after all."

She stood up and realized that the ponies were only half her size and the draconequus, twice. This made her less afraid of the ponies, but more afraid of the monster. However, the yellow pegasus seemed to have control over him, which made her more comfortable.

"Look," she said. "This has been…weird and all, but I really need to get home. My aunts are probably worried about me. So if you don't mind sending me back…"

Pinkie Pie's eyes widened. "You're leaving _already_?! But we just got started! I was gonna show you Sugar Cube Corner and my pet alligator Gummy! I was even gonna throw you a Welcome to Ponyville Party!"

"Pinkie, she can't stay here!" Rainbow Dash interjected. "You know how the ponies will react when they see a human here? She doesn't belong!"

"Rainbow!" Applejack exclaimed.

"No, he's right," Tammy assured her.

The blue pegasus narrowed her eyes. "_Excuse_ me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were a…sorry. _She's_ right. I really don't belong here. So would you point me in the direction of home?"

Twilight nodded. "Rainbow's right. A human in Equestria would bring about panic. Discord, you may send her back."

The draconequus let out a bored groan. "What about your science experiment?"

The alicorn gritted her teeth. "That's a royal command."

"And when's the last time I took a royal…?"

"Discord," Fluttershy warned.

"Fine! You know, you're just as boring as Celestia!"

The chaotic being snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. He looked at them questioningly and tried again.

"Strange."

"Quit fooling around, Discord!" Rainbow Dash cried.

"I'm not fooling!"

"She's still here!"

Even Tammy was getting impatient. After ten snaps, Discord finally gave up.

"Well, that's that."

"That's what?" Twilight asked.

"For some reason, I can't send her back."

"What do you mean?"

"Um…I don't know. Traveling between worlds takes a lot of magic. Getting her here has really drained it out of me."

"But you're the Spirit of Chaos!" Rainbow exclaimed. "I thought your magic could do anything!"

"Even my magic has its limits." He turned to the human. "Oh well, looks like you'll be sticking around for a while, _Taffy_."

Her jaw dropped. "_What_?!"

"Discord, if this is a trick…" Fluttershy started to say.

The creature threw up his paw and claw. "No trick! Honest!"

Applejack huffed. "I'll be the judge of that."

"Look, my magic just needs to charge up and then she'll be on her way, I swear."

"Promise?" Fluttershy asked.

"Promise."

Pinkie Pie stretched out her neck like a giraffe to meet his eye. "Pinkie Promise?"

"Oh please, don't make me…"

"Pinkie Promise!"

He sighed. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

After crossing his chest, he summoned an actual cupcake and stuck it in his eye.

"Okay!" Pinkie said cheerfully.

"Hold on a second!" Tammy exclaimed. "You mean to tell me I'm stuck here?"

"Not very bright, is she?" Discord whispered to Fluttershy, purposely loud enough for the human to hear.

"It looks that way," Twilight said. "But don't worry. We'll make sure your stay here is comfortable."

"We're not taking her into Ponyville, are we?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We can't arouse any panic. We'll have to keep her presence a secret until further notice. No pony else must know."

"Well," Applejack said, "I suppose that means my place is out. My folks are sure to ask questions."

"She can't stay with me," Rainbow said. "She can't fly."

"She can stay with me!" Pinkie Pie offered, bouncing up and down.

"We can't risk the Cakes seeing her," Twilight pointed out.

The energetic pony paused in mid-air and slowly returned to the ground in a disappointed pout.

"And I can't take her to my shop without some pony seeing her," Rarity said. "Plus, I know Sweetie Belle won't be able to keep her mouth shut, not after the Gabby Gums incident."

"She can't stay in the library either," the dragon Spike added. "Some pony might notice."

"That leaves one place," Twilight said.

Every pony turned to Fluttershy. Discord's red and yellow eyes widened as realization hit him.

"Oh no! _No_! I already have to deal with that rabbit! There is _no way_ I'm getting another roommate!"

"I'm not really sure if there's room," Fluttershy said softly.

"Your cottage is on the outskirts of Ponyville," Twilight explained. "No pony will see Tammy coming and going. Besides," she turned to the draconequus, "I believe it's a fair punishment."

"Hey!" Discord exclaimed. "You were the one who wanted to know about humans in the first place!"

"I didn't ask you to _bring_ one! And you have no say in the matter! Tammy will be staying with Fluttershy, if we have both their consent, that is."

The yellow pegasus pondered. "Well…"

"Come now, my dear," the draconequus said, batting his eyes. "If we take her in, there would be no room for your poor, dear, friend. You may have to kick out some of your critters just to fit another bed."

Fluttershy stared at him for a moment and then looked at the human. "Well…my home is always open to all creatures in need."

Discord ground his teeth together and stopped his foot angrily.

"What do you say, Tammy?" Twilight asked the girl. "Are you alright staying with Fluttershy until we are able to send you home?"

Tammy looked unsurely at Discord. "I have to stay with _him_?"

The creature of chaos perked up. "You don't _have_ to! You wouldn't want to! I'm a terrible roommate! I hog the bathroom! I eat all the…"

He stopped as a yellow hoof covered his mouth. "He'll behave himself. _Won't_ you, Discord?"

He sighed and nodded. Tammy glanced between the two. Exactly what was their relationship? Owner and pet? Mother and son? That one seemed a bit of a stretch. Besides, he seemed older. Perhaps it was the goat beard. Were they simply roommates? Or were they romantically involved? That last one made her shiver. _Don't be ridiculous, Tammy, they're just roommates._ Heaven only knows how that happened, though.

The idea of staying with that…whatever he was…made Tammy nauseated, which rarely happened. However, she knew that as long as the pegasus was around to keep him grounded, she would be safe.

"Okay," she said.

"Yippee!" Pinkie Pie cheered excitedly. "You're gonna stay! You know what this calls for?"

Every pony groaned in annoyance, knowing the answer.

"A party!"

"No parties, Pinkie!" Twilight commanded. "We can't draw any attention!" She sighed. "So it's settled then. I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, hereby decree that the human known as Tammy will be staying in Fluttershy's cottage until further notice."

Tammy then remembered the alicorn was a princess and made a small curtsy. "Thanks."

_This is going to be one interesting day._

* * *

**And we thought having just Discord at Fluttershy's was enough!**


	3. Crashing at Fluttershy's

**Yeah, now we'll see how Discord gets along with humans.**

* * *

Fluttershy's cottage was filled with hundreds of small animals. Many of them ran at the sight of Tammy, for they had never seen a human before. Even more ran at the sight of Discord, worried that he was going to turn them into cotton candy. In other words, the cottage was cleared as soon as everyone entered.

"You sure you're okay with this?" Tammy asked the pegasus. "I mean this place is pretty small and I don't want to trouble you…"

"Oh, it's no trouble," Fluttershy assured her.

"Do all humans have paws?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Paws?" Tammy said questioningly.

"That is what those are, right? I mean they can't be hooves 'cuz they got fingers! So they must be paws, like Discord's here!"

"Um, they're called hands and yes, all humans have them."

"What about your feet? Do they have hooves or toes?"

"Toes."

"How many?"

"Ten. Five on each."

"Can I see? Can I see?"

"Um, maybe later."

"You know what? You remind me of a monkey!"

"Pinkie!" Applejack exclaimed.

"No, that's actually a reasonable conclusion," Tammy said. "Humans are related to apes."

"So do you eat bananas?" Pinkie inquired.

"Yes."

"How about cupcakes?"

"Yes."

"Chocolate fudge?"

The cowgirl pony stood between her and the human. "Okay, Pinkie! I think that's enough."

"Well," Twilight said, "we'll leave you to get settled. If you need anything, let Fluttershy know."

Tammy was about to reply when Rainbow Dash flew up in her face. "And if _anything_ happens to Fluttershy while we're gone, I swear I'll…"

She was cut off as Applejack tugged on her tail with her mouth.

"I get the message," Tammy said with a gulp. She immediately decided this rainbow colored pegasus would not be her ally.

"And do call me when you want to fix that horrid coiffure of yours!" Rarity exclaimed.

The human glanced down at the strands of her long tangled brown hair. _What's wrong with it?_

"Remember," Twilight said. "The ponies have never seen a human before and will freak out, so it's best that you stay indoors."

"Oh sure, I understand."

"And if Discord brings you trouble…"

Tammy glanced behind her to see the draconequus poking at a white rabbit dangling from his talon. When he noticed her looking at him, he turned the bunny right side up and patted him innocently on the head.

"I can handle it…I think."

"And _you,_" the princess said, pointing at Discord. "I don't want you leaving Ponyville until this issue you've started is settled!"

"In other words," Fluttershy added, "you're grounded."

The draconequus groaned.

"Good," Twilight said, turning back to Tammy. "We'll see you shortly, then."

Then the group departed out the door, leaving the human alone with the draconequus and pegasus.

"Now then," Fluttershy pondered. "We need to get you a place to sleep. Let's see, Discord already has the couch, my bed might be a bit small, but…"

"See?" Discord said, materializing behind Fluttershy. "No place for her to sleep. Guess we'll just have to kick her out."

"I don't mind sleeping on the floor," Tammy said.

"Oh no, I won't allow it!" the pegasus exclaimed. Then she had an idea. "Discord, could you make a bed appear?"

The draconequus was taken aback. "Wait, what?"

"Yes, use your magic to summon a bed big enough for Tammy! Upstairs, next to mine!"

"But…but…"

Fluttershy glared at him.

"Fine!" He snapped his fingers. "There! Go upstairs and see!"

The pegasus led Tammy up the stairs and sure enough, beside the small quilted bed was a larger one draped in a blue blanket. Fluttershy smiled with satisfaction. Tammy went over to the bed and sat down to test it. She shrieked as she fell in with a splash. She heard Discord laughing over her.

"Oh, did I mention it was a water bed?"

"How in the world did you…?" She glanced around. It appeared that the water was being held in place with no glass, nothing keeping it contained. "This doesn't even make sense!"

"Oh, what fun is there in making sense?"

"Discord!" Fluttershy shouted. "Turn that into a _real_ bed, now!"

"Come now, you have to admit this is funny!"

"Don't make me give you the Stare!"

He laughed. "You know I'm immune!"

With that, the yellow pegasus opened her eyes, shooting an ominous glare at the creature. Even though Tammy wasn't looking directly at it, she was greatly disturbed. It seemed to have no effect on the draconequus, however.

"I told you, it doesn't…oh no, wait!" He clutched his throat. "No, it's not possible! You've…ugh! You've gotten stronger! Okay, okay! I'll do whatever you want! I'll…" He burst into laughter. "Oh, that never gets old!" But Fluttershy kept staring at him. "Okay, you can stop now." She didn't even blink, only opened her eyes wider. Discord was now growing uncomfortable. "Seriously, that's just getting creepy." She continued to stare, gritting her teeth. He then heaved an annoyed sigh. "You never let me have any fun!"

With a snap, the water bed transformed into a feathered mattress and Tammy was dry once again.

"Thank you!"

"Don't mention it," Discord said with a glare. "_Ever_."

"Well," Fluttershy said, as if nothing had happened. "I best get us something to eat. We were so distracted by your arrival that we forgot about our picnic! What do humans eat?"

At the mention of food, Tammy's stomach grumbled. "Do you have any burgers?"

"What are burgers?"

"I guess that answers that." She then recalled that horses were vegetarians and mentally kicked herself for that. "What do you have?"

"We have hay and oats."

"Um, that's not exactly in my diet."

"We have plenty of vegetables. I could make you a salad."

"Yeah, a salad would be nice."

"You needn't slave over a counter, my dear," Discord said to the pegasus. "I can whip up a meal with a snap of my fingers."

"Oh no, Discord," she warned. "Remember the last time you served food when we had guests?"

"One gravy boat coming alive and you're labeled for life!"

"Oh, the gravy boat was nothing. The soup tureen, however…"

"Can't you ponies take a joke?"

"Anyway, I'll be back in a moment. Why don't you two get to know each other?" She darted her eyes at Discord. "_Behave._"

She flew downstairs and left the two alone. They did nothing but glare at each other for a long time. It was Tammy who broke the resentful silence.

"It sure was nice of that Fluttershy to let me stay here."

"Yes," Discord said through his teeth. "With her being the Element of Kindness, she has the tendency to be nice to _everybody_."

"That would explain why she hasn't kicked _you_ out yet. Wait. Element of _what_ now?"

"Long story. I mean _really _long. It would take about…forty minutes to explain."

"Okay, okay. So how exactly did you and she become roommates?"

"Another long story, but not as long. It would only take about twenty minutes."

"Can't you just give me the short version?"

He sighed. "I was evil, she turned me good."

"If this is the good version of you, I'd hate to see the evil side."

"Keep bugging me and you just might!"

Then the draconequus vanished in a huff. _Somebody's got anger management issues._ Sensing that he was not coming back, Tammy made her way down to the kitchen, where Fluttershy was chopping up some carrots.

"Oh, can I help you?" she asked once she noticed the girl.

"Um, your friend blew me off, so I was wondering if I could help you in here."

"Oh, that would be wonderful! You could slice some cucumbers. You like cucumbers, right? You're not allergic, are you?"

"Err, no. Cucumbers are fine."

Fluttershy found her an extra knife and Tammy started slicing.

"Is he always like that? Your buddy, Discord?"

"Oh, he just has trouble making friends," the pegasus said nonchalantly. "He's really a sweetheart once you get to know him. Why, last week he did all my spring cleaning!"

"Yeah, about that…how did that happen? You two living together, I mean."

"He didn't tell you?"

"He was pretty vague about it. Something about him being evil and you turning him good."

"Oh, it's a bit funny, when you think about it. You see, Discord is the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. You've seen what he can do with his magic. A thousand years ago, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna turned him to stone. He escaped a year ago, but my friends and I stopped him. Then Princess Celestia asked us to reform him, specifically me, since I'm good with creatures of all sorts. So he was to stay with me while being reformed. My tactic was to befriend him and…well, let's just say it worked. Now he uses his magic for good, instead of evil."

There was a crash of lightning and the same white bunny dashed through the kitchen, his tail slightly burnt.

"Most of the time," Fluttershy muttered under her breath. "He has a place in the castle in Canterlot, that's the capital, but mostly he hangs around here."

The topic of their conversation suddenly appeared behind the pegasus, laying his lion's paw and eagle's claw on her shoulders.

"Why of course I'd rather hang out here than in that boring old castle. After all, this is where the most wonderful pony in the world lives!"

Fluttershy giggled. "Oh, stop!"

"No, really! I'm looking at her right now!"

He playfully rubbed the top of her head and she laughed along with him. Tammy raised an eyebrow at them.

"Are you two like…a couple?"

They paused and stared at her confusingly.

"A couple of what?" Discord asked.

"You know. Are you…involved?"

"Involved in what?" Fluttershy inquired.

Tammy threw her head back. "Oh for the love of…! Are you _dating_?!"

The two widened their eyes and moved away from each other in embarrassment.

"N-no!" Fluttershy stammered. "O-of course not…that would be…"

"W-whatever gave you that idea?" Discord chuckled nervously.

"Just asking," Tammy said. "Sorry."

"Oh," Fluttershy said, putting a hoof to her ear. "I think I hear the chickens calling for their dinner! I'll be right back!"

"Go ahead!" Discord said as she flew away. "Take your time!"

He waited for her to be out the door. Then he darted his eyes at the girl and grabbed her by the shirt.

"What do you know?" he grunted.

"Wait, what?" Tammy asked, confused and scared.

"Who told you we were dating?"

"You mean…you _are_?"

"Yes! I mean no! I mean…no, we're _not_ dating! So whatever gave you the idea, it was wrong! Never in a million years would that pony ever go out with me!"

Seeing the slight pain in his eyes, Tammy started putting the pieces together. "Wait a minute…you _want_ to date her, don't you?"

Discord's anger transformed into shock. "No! I…I…"

"Oh my god! You _like_ her!"

His anger returned. "I do _not_! Now, if you say a word to Fluttershy, I swear, I'll turn you into a toothbrush to scrub the toilet with!"

Tammy smirked. "So you _do_ like her."

"No! And if you tell her that I do…"

"Hey, hey. My lips are sealed."

She made a zipper motion across her mouth for emphasis.

"What's going on in here?"

Discord turned to the pegasus hovering in the doorway. "Oh, Fluttershy…Taffy and I were just…" He set the human down and smoothed out her shirt, smiling sheepishly. "You know what? I'll put myself in a time-out."

He flew out of the kitchen, embarrassed. Tammy tried to process what she had just learned. So the Spirit of Chaos had a crush on the little pegasus. It was cute and creepy at the same time. Exactly how old was that guy?

"You're right," Tammy said. "He's actually not that…"

She was interrupted as the pegasus poked a hoof in her face. "What do you know?"

"Huh?"

"What gave you the impression that we were dating?"

"I don't know. You kind of act like an old married couple…"

Some of her anger faded. "Has he said anything about me?"

Now Tammy was really confused. "What?"

"Discord, has he _said_ anything about me?"

She was about to tell her when the draconequus' threat came to mind. "Um, I don't know…maybe?"

"Well, do you think he likes me?"

"Why?" It then made sense. "Wait. Do _you_ like _him_?!"

"No! Yes! Maybe! I don't know!"

Tammy shook her head with a smile. "Oh, this is rich. Wait until I tell him…"

"No! You _can't_ tell him! If you do…I'll…I'll…I'll give you the Stare!"

It seemed impossible, but at this moment, the girl was more afraid of the pegasus than the draconequus.

"Okay, okay. I won't say anything. But you should know…"

"Ahem," Discord said from the doorway. "Exactly _what_ are you girls talking about in here?" He pointed a warning glare at Tammy.

"Well, Fluttershy was just saying that…"

The pegasus gave an equal glare. _Oh boy, fifteen minutes in this place and I'm on bad terms with both of them!_

"That…we should add some tomatoes to the salad! Yes, I think that's a great idea, Fluttershy!"

The two relaxed, which put Tammy at ease as well. _Looks like I'm in the clear…for now._

* * *

Meanwhile, the others were having a meeting at the library.

"Do you think we should tell Princess Celestia?" Spike asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Twilight said, shaking her head. "We'd have to explain that Discord was misbehaving again, and Fluttershy wouldn't like it."

"You sure he really can't send her back?" Rainbow questioned. "I mean he could be faking."

"She has a point," Applejack agreed. "Imagine what chaos there'll be with a human walking about."

"And how do we know we can trust this human?"

"Applejack," Twilight said. "Do you remember anything else your Granny Smith said about humans?"

"Just that a couple of them came some time ago, surprised that we all talked and had jobs and such."

"How'd they get here?"

"Granny Smith said they fell out of the sky."

"How can they do that when they don't have wings?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I hope Tammy stays here!" Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically. "Imagine all the fun we'll have with a human!"

"It would be interesting to learn more about her species," Twilight marveled. "But now that I'm a princess, I have to think of the well-being of Equestria before myself. Although I'm sure Tammy holds no threat, others may not see it my way." She darted her eyes at Rainbow.

"What?" she shrugged. "I just don't like the look of her, that's all."

"The best we can do right now is see what happens in the morning. If Discord is not able to send Tammy back by then, then we will have to figure out what to do with her in the meantime."

* * *

**This chapter got so long, I decided to split it into two.**

**Now you know. I'm a fan of Fluttercord. I can't help it! I'm a sucker for a good Beauty and the Beast story!**


	4. Tension

**Dumb title, I know.**

* * *

Dinner was awfully quiet. Relatively speaking, for Discord was chomping on his bowl along with the salad. Tammy didn't bother questioning it. Her two hosts didn't say a word, but she noticed them stealing quick glances at each other, and threatening ones at her.

The fact that these two liked each other weirded her out. Sure, she could understand why Discord would have feelings for Fluttershy, who was a pretty pony and very kind. But Fluttershy having mutual feelings? That was harder to believe. After all, that Discord was a beast, not just by appearance.

Then she remembered the story _Beauty and the Beast_ that she had loved so much as a child. It was then that she understood, sort of. The pegasus had turned the draconequus from bad to good. It was only natural that sparks would fly between them.

_This is ridiculous_, Tammy thought as Discord stole another glance at Fluttershy. _Weird as it is, they both like each other. They should come right out and say it._ She felt like she should say something, but memory of Fluttershy's Stare and Discord's water bed killed the idea, mostly the Stare.

When he wasn't looking at Fluttershy, Discord was contemplating on what he should do about the girl who was really starting to get on his nerves. He had thought bringing a human to Equestria would stir up some chaos. He had even pretended to be unable to send her back just to see what disruptive events would play out. So far the only trouble the human had caused was for him. As if he hadn't been on thin ice with the ponies already.

He decided that in the morning, he would send her back immediately. Turning her into a toothbrush would be more satisfying, but he did not want to upset the one pony he cared about. That was the other thing. He had to get rid of the human before she spilled his secret.

After dinner, they all decided to turn in early. Well, everyone but Discord.

"The night's still young," he protested as Fluttershy tried to get him under a blanket. "I promise I'll be quiet."

"Don't make me get the feather duster," she warned.

"Now, let's not get hasty! Fine! But I won't sleep!"

Tammy was about to get ready for bed when she realized she didn't have any of her toiletries or pajamas.

"Um, Discord?"

"What?"

She then explained what she needed and he rolled his eyes. With a snap of his fingers, a toiletry bag appeared in Tammy's hands, along with a pair of pajamas on her body. The shirt read 'I'm With Stupid,' but the arrow was pointing up at her face.

"Gee, thanks," she grumbled.

She went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she took a toothbrush out of the bag, it slipped out of her hands. She picked it up, but lost hold of it again. She then realized it was made of butter. _Maybe I'll just skip brushing my teeth tonight._

After taking a quick shower and washing the grass out of her hair, Tammy went upstairs. She let out a shriek as the steps retracted into the wood and she slid back down. She shot a glare at Discord, who smirked in response. _I'm really starting to hate that guy._

As Tammy climbed into her bed, she felt something crawl over her feet. She gasped when she saw a spider the size of a rat. Luckily, she wasn't afraid of non-poisonous spiders and kicked it off.

"Your boyfriend certainly has a…interesting sense of humor."

Fluttershy was in bed when she heard this comment. Her cheeks blushed pink. "He's not my boyfriend."

"But you _want_ him to be."

"I, uh…"

"Why not just tell him?"

"Tell him what?"

Tammy slapped herself in the forehead. "That you _like_ him!"

"Shush! He might hear you!"

"So why don't you?"

Fluttershy looked away. "Well, we're just so…different. I don't mind, but others… My friends already don't approve of him living here as it is. Imagine how they'd react if we were…"

She trailed off and buried her face under the covers.

"Look," Tammy began. "I may not know much about this place, or your history with this guy, but I do know a few things about romance. My Aunt Megan once said to me: 'love has no boundaries.' I mean you've heard that _Beauty and the Beast_ story, right?"

Fluttershy peeked out at her. "I guess you're right…"

"And who knows? He might feel the same way."

"You really think so?"

"I have a hunch."

She technically wasn't breaking her promise. She told Fluttershy that Discord _might_ like her, not that he _did_.

"I'll…I'll think about it."

Tammy nodded. "Yeah, you do that. And, um, thanks again for letting me stay here."

"Do you need anything else? Do you need me to sing you a lullaby?"

"Um, thanks, but I'm good."

Tammy tried her best to get sleep, but the events of the day were gnawing at her brain. She was surprised she wasn't having a nervous breakdown. She supposed her aunts' stories had prepared her. _Oh gosh, my aunts!_ They had probably called the police by now! Oh well, they wouldn't worry in the morning.

She tried remembering all the stories they had told her. She had forgotten that the land was called Equestria, but if this was the same place her aunts and father had visited, why was every pony so surprised to see a human? It could not have been that long ago.

She then recalled that the land was ruled by a Princess Celestia. She had heard the ponies mention her, but her aunts had not said anything about other princesses like the one she had met today. Was Twilight Sparkle her sister or something? Was Celestia an alicorn too?

What puzzled Tammy was how she had gotten here. She understood that it was Discord who had brought her, but her aunts had said that they flew over a rainbow. That made as much sense as everything else about this place. So where was this rainbow?

Tammy glanced at the clock. It was one in the morning, and she still couldn't get any sleep. Fluttershy, on the other hand, was snoozing peacefully on the other side of the room.

Surrendering to her lack of fatigue, Tammy slowly climbed out of bed and down the stairs, careful not to wake the pegasus. When she reached the bottom, a light turned on and startled her. She turned to see the guy she had come to loathe sitting on the couch, smiling with his arms crossed.

"And just what are you doing out of bed, young lady?"

She placed her hands on her hips. "I could ask you the same thing." She looked at his nightwear. "And why you're wearing a fluffy pink robe." She did not comment on the bunny slippers.

"It's comfy," the draconequus stated nonchalantly. "I'm awake because I'm not tired. Simple as that."

"Well, I'm also awake because I'm not tired. Simple as that."

"Yes, but I'm a full grown adult, while you're just a teenager. You need eight hours of sleep."

"You sound like me when my dad comes home."

Discord's smirk faltered into confusion. "Excuse me?"

"If you must know, _I'm _the one who sits on the couch, asking why my dad is up so late. He gets home at around midnight every night. It's kind of ironic when you think about it."

The draconequus stared at her. "What does your mother do about it?"

Tammy turned away from him.

"Um, okay. I get why you're up, but why are you down here?"

"Sometimes a midnight snack helps me sleep."

"You like chocolate milk?"

"Sure."

"Say no more!"

She turned to see him summon a pink cloud pouring brown rain. A glass materialized in his hand and he filled it with the rain. He offered it to Tammy, who took it unsurely.

"It's not poisonous, if that's what you think."

Still suspicious, she took a sip. Her eyes widened. "Wait, this is…"

"Chocolate milk," he nodded.

"Whoa. You can make it _rain_ chocolate milk?!"

"Oh, there's more. Watch this."

He summoned a paper cone and scooped up the cloud. Tammy was surprised the rain hadn't stained the floor. He then took a bite out of the sticky cloud.

"Want some?"

Tammy reached out and took a chunk of the cloud. After a nibble, she was even more impressed. "And you make it rain from _cotton candy_?!"

He nodded again.

"Dude, that's amazing."

"Thank you! You know, you're the second being to appreciate my creativity?"

"I'm guessing the first is Fluttershy."

"No, Pinkie Pie."

She shrugged. "That makes sense."

"Darn it! I'm not supposed to make sense!"

They both started laughing, and for the first time, Tammy actually thought she might like the creature. She had to admit, he was kind of fun.

"Look," she said. "I think we got off on the wrong foot, err, claw…I mean… Anyway, truce?"

She held out her hand. Discord stared at it for a moment and then shook it with his lion's paw.

"Truce." He then made the cotton candy disappear, a white flag appearing in its place.

"They never mentioned you."

"Pardon?"

"My aunts, they used to tell me stories about a land filled with talking ponies. I thought it was all a lot of hooey, until today. But they never mentioned you."

"I'm not surprised. For a thousand years, I've been encased in stone."

"That must have been a bore."

"Finally, someone gets it!"

"I mean, you can't even move when you're in stone, right?"

"Aw, you wouldn't believe how many times I had the urge to scratch my nose, or shoo away the birds that did their business on me!"

"Yuck! What exactly did you do to get that way?"

"See that chocolate milk you're drinking?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, there you go."

"They put you in stone 'cuz you made it rain chocolate milk?"

"Well, I also turned corn into popcorn and buffalos into ballerinas and roads into soap and literally made pigs fly…"

Tammy couldn't stop chuckling.

"_You_ may find it funny, but the ponies didn't."

"I'd certainly be mad if there was chocolate milk rain with no chocolate chip cookies to go with it."

"You know what? I like you, Taffy."

"Tammy."

"Nah, Taffy suits you."

"I'm beginning to like you too, Discord. Hey, I've been meaning to ask. Of all the humans you could have brought to Equestria, why me?"

"Don't you remember? You were sitting alone on the hill, singing about going to a place of magic. I simply granted your wish. Happy?"

She thought about it. "You know something? I kind of am."

Discord tapped his chin with his talon. "You don't say."

"Hey, about you and Fluttershy…"

His smile disappeared. "You should be in bed!"

He snapped his fingers and Tammy found herself in bed again. She sighed. There was no use reasoning with that one, but he was still kind of cool. She snuggled under the covers and began to wonder if she could stay here longer. She figured she should at least play matchmaker with her hosts before she left.

* * *

"When was the last time you saw her?" the detective asked the two sisters.

"This afternoon," Megan replied. "Around five."

Her arms were wrapped around Molly, who was shaking from the shock.

"And where was she?"

"She was going up the hill with her guitar. She's often playing up there."

"Has she ever run away before?"

"No, she's usually quite responsible. Also, she wouldn't leave without her guitar."

"Where are her parents?"

"Her mother passed away a few years ago and her father's on a business trip in Tokyo. We tried calling him, but he might still have his cell phone off."

"Could you give me a physical description?"

"I'll give you a picture."

She left her sister to fish her wallet out of her purse. She withdrew Tammy's school photo and handed it to the detective.

"Thank you, miss. We'll let you know if we find anything."

In a few minutes, the detective and the all the officers were gone. Megan went to fetch a blanket for her younger sister.

"I wonder if this was how our parents felt," Molly said, still shivering, "the first time we left. We were gone for days, because we didn't know how to get back."

Megan smirked. "I guess there is such a thing as karma."

"Megan, you don't suppose she found the rainbow, do you?"

She shook her head. "We haven't seen the rainbow in decades."

"But it would explain why she vanished like that…"

"Molly, what are the odds of Tammy landing in Equestria like we did?"

"I don't know. I just hope she doesn't run into trouble. You remember why we never went back, right?"

Megan nodded grimly. "Tammy's a big girl. She can take care of herself. Wherever she is, I'm sure it's nothing she can't handle."

* * *

**Personally, I think it would be cool to have Discord as a friend. Come on, CHOCOLATE RAIN!**


	5. Decisions

**WARNING! LOTS OF FLUTTERCORD MUSH!**

* * *

Discord woke to the sweet sound of Fluttershy's voice as she hummed in the kitchen. She was humming the ten-note tune that every pony somehow knew. He crept up slowly to the doorway. He could observe her for hours without her noticing he was there, because he was always invisible. He watched as she gracefully flew from cabinet to cabinet, gathering supplies for breakfast. As she poured flour into the mixing bowl, she let out a tiny, almost inaudible sneeze.

That's what he found so fascinating about her, the fact that every move she made was graceful and delicate. Odd that such a quality would attract the Spirit of Chaos. Usually, if anything graceful or delicate crossed his path, he would turn it into something chaotic, like flowers into lollipops, but not Fluttershy. She was the only exception. He wouldn't change a hair on her pretty head.

When Celestia had asked Fluttershy to reform Discord, he had decided to use it to his advantage. He had figured that if he could trick the pegasus into believing he was reformed, she would not have the heart to use her Element of Kindness against him. The irony was that even though she had not used her necklace, her kindness was what had changed him.

_Discord, you're a fool. You've never cared for any pony and you're certainly not going to start now._ He had kept telling himself this over the past few months, even after Fluttershy had fully accepted him as her friend. It was only a short time ago, when they were taking a walk and the sun was setting, her face gleaming in the orange light, when he realized that he truly cared for the pegasus…as more than a friend.

She was beautiful. Something about her soft pink mane and her blue-green eyes just made his heart, which he had not thought existed, melt. It was the first time he had considered something beautiful that he had not made himself. And that was saying a lot.

Of course, there were various obstacles. First, there was their thousand-year age difference. It hardly seemed appropriate them living together as it was. Then again, he had been frozen for a thousand years, so if he subtracted that, he'd be…he really couldn't remember how old he had been when he was turned to stone. Besides, he was also immortal and would always be older than every pony.

Then there was the matter of them being different species. Fluttershy cared for all creatures, but not in the way Discord wanted her to care for him. Would a relationship between them even be legal? He had never heard of such a thing occurring, and he had a thousand years worth of gossip.

The biggest obstacle, and the one that hurt him the most, was his appearance. While Fluttershy was the most beautiful creature in all of Equestria, he was…not. He even _looked_ old. Why in the world would she ever want something as hideous as him?

Even if none of that mattered to Fluttershy, Discord knew the other ponies would never approve and his dear, sweet pegasus would be an outcast, breaking her heart and his own in the process. He would never wish her such a fate. So he kept his distance.

Still, as she sang in that melodic voice of hers, he could not help but smile. He could listen to that voice forever. But he couldn't, because it suddenly ceased. Why did she stop? She was only flipping pancakes. Whatever did she stop for?

He then forgot his stealth and materialized behind her.

"Please, do go on."

Fluttershy let out a shriek, dropping her spatula in the process. She turned and smiled nervously.

"Oh, Discord, it's only you. You're up early."

"Well, I was _trying_ to sleep but was awakened by a lovely songbird."

This got her excited. "Really? Where?"

He stooped to her eye level. "I'm looking at her."

Fluttershy blushed. "Oh, you heard me, huh?"

"How could I miss the sound of your charming voice?"

"Oh, well, I…"

She often blushed whenever he attempted to flirt. As he had not had much experience with females, he never knew whether it was a good or bad sign. He glanced at the pancakes cooking on the stove.

"You know, I really hate seeing you slaving over a hot stove when I can whip up breakfast in a matter of seconds."

She rubbed her foreleg with her hoof. "I know that, but…I just want to do something nice for you. That's all."

"Oh come now, you've already done more than enough for me as it is. Let me do something for you."

"Also, we have a guest, and…"

"I know, I know. I won't enchant the maple syrup, I promise."

She narrowed her eyes. He grunted.

"You're not still mad about the incident at Sweet Apple Acres, are you?"

"You have my trust, Discord, but I know there are times when you can't help yourself. You really think I don't know about the butter toothbrush or the retracting stairs?"

He laughed. "You have to admit those were funny!"

"Discord…"

"So I pull a few harmless pranks, so sue me!"

He admired her with all his heart, but he simply couldn't understand why she was always mad about his little, not evil but for good fun, tricks.

"It's not so much the pranks, it's just that…"

She trailed off when she smelt something burning. She turned and screamed when she saw her pancakes turning black.

"Oh no, no, no…"

"I can fix it!"

With a snap of his fingers, the pan of burning pancakes vanished and reappeared, perfect and rightly cooked, stacked on a plate in the center of the table. Three places were also set in front of each seat.

"See?" Discord said, zapping a flowered table cloth for a finishing touch. "Not all my magic is for laughs. Look, no forks or knives coming to life."

Fluttershy smiled softly at her friend. "Thank you. That was very sweet."

A few months ago, he would have gagged at that comment. Instead, he smiled in return.

"Why don't you go see if Tammy's awake?" she asked.

His grin disappeared. He had forgotten about the human. He was supposed to send her back this morning. That's exactly what he was going to do. She knew too much.

On the other hand, he was interested in the human. Not in the way he was interested in Fluttershy, but interested in just getting to know her. Besides, he rarely found anyone who could put up with him. She also hadn't seemed so disgusted in discovering his secret. That's when he began to wonder.

Meanwhile, Tammy had been making a pointless effort to stay asleep. It was no use. The sun would not leave, reminding her to get up, because she had to get home.

Moaning, she turned onto her back and wearily opened her heavy eyelids.

"What do you know about romance?"

"Gah!" she cried when she saw Discord was in her face. "Geez, man! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"What do you know about romance?" he repeated.

Tammy blinked up at him. "Huh?"

He sighed. "I'll say it slowly so your tiny human brain can comprehend. What. Do. You. Know. About. Romance?"

She stared at him for a moment and then smirked. "This is about Fluttershy, isn't it?"

"Just answer the question!"

"Well, I guess I know a thing or two about love…"

"Excellent! Then give me some advice!"

"What?"

He knocked on her head. "Hello? Anybody in there? Give me some advice on wooing!"

She swatted his hand away and sat up. "You're asking _me_?"

"You already know my secret."

Tammy smirked again. "So you _do_ like Fluttershy." He nodded. "That is _so_ cute!"

"Don't get cocky! I seriously need your help! As you may have guessed, I've never courted a female before."

"Why am I not surprised?" she said sarcastically.

"So I was thinking…since you're a female, so you know what females like, and you already know of my affections, you could be my…what's the word?"

"Matchmaker?"

"Yes, that's it! Matchmaker!"

"I don't know. I'm not really…"

He poked her in the chest. "If you don't help me, I'll turn you into a carrot to feed to the cute little bunny rabbits!"

Tammy held up her hands. "Whoa, hold up! Aren't you supposed to send me home this morning?"

He paused. "Um…that's right, I…"

A knock on the front door interrupted them.

"Twilight, girls," they heard Fluttershy say. "You're up early."

"You know why we're here," said Princess Twilight. "Where are Discord and the human?"

"Upstairs. Discord! Tammy!"

Tammy sighed. "Time to face her Royal Highness."

Discord groaned. "More like a royal _pain_."

"That's not very nice."

"Just because she has wings and a fancy crown now doesn't mean she isn't the same annoying Twilight Sparkle."

As they went downstairs, they were met with a collision of pink. Discord zapped himself out of the way, but Tammy was pinned to the floor.

"You won't believe it!" Pinkie Pie cried. "Twilight says you can stay!"

The four other ponies were there, along with the dragon.

"She did not!" Rainbow Dash protested.

"She said she _may_ stay," Rarity corrected.

"But she didn't mean that literally, right, Twilight?"

The alicorn silenced her. "My words were: she may stay for a while if that is what she wishes."

"Of course she wants to stay!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "You _do_ wanna stay? Don't ya, Tammy?! Don't ya?!"

"Standing…on…chest…" Tammy wheezed. "Can't…breathe…"

"Oh! Sorry."

The pony stepped off the human, allowing her to stand.

"Look," she started to say. "You guys have been nice and all, and it would be cool to stick around, but I have a family waiting for me."

Pinkie Pie looked like she was about to cry. Twilight nodded her head.

"I understand."

"At least stay for breakfast," Fluttershy said. "I prepared it for you."

That cheered the pink pony up. "Pancakes! Yummy!"

"But I don't have enough for all of you!"

"I can solve that!" Discord chimed.

"Discord, no!"

In a flash, a funky blue dining table appeared in the living room, nine stacks of pancakes prepared. Tammy's jaw dropped. There were at least twenty in each pile.

"Oh no!" Rainbow insisted. "I'm not having any more meals with that…"

She squealed as someone pulled on her tail. She expected it to be Applejack, but was surprised to see Tammy glaring at her.

"Do me a favor, Dashie, and quit being a party pooper!"

"Party?" Pinkie exclaimed. "Did someone say party?"

Discord rolled on the floor with laughter. Rainbow was lost for words.

As they ate breakfast, the ponies asked Tammy about the human world.

"Do you wear clothes all the time or only on special occasions?" Rarity asked.

"All the time," Tammy replied.

"Oh, so you can always be fashionable, right?"

"Um…sure."

"Well, if _that's_ the sort of thing humans wear all the time, your species must have a poor taste in fashion."

She glanced down at her pajamas. "Oh, you see, Discord…"

"If you don't have pegasi," Rainbow Dash interrupted, "who controls the weather?"

"Don't be ridiculous. No one controls the weather."

The blue pegasus looked as if she had been stabbed in the back.

"What about the animals?" Fluttershy asked. "What sort of creatures do you have?"

"Gosh," Tammy exclaimed. "There are too many to count. I can tell you that none of them talk."

"Are there dragons?" Spike asked.

"No. Well, we have _komodo_ dragons."

"I haven't heard of those creatures," Twilight said.

"What are they like?" Spike inquired. "Do they breathe fire and eat gemstones?"

Tammy blinked. "You eat gemstones?"

"Yeah, they're delicious!"

_Glad he's not a carnivore._

"Do they have winter?" Pinkie Pie questioned. "How about spring and bouncy balls?"

"Uh…yeah."

Tammy was starting to like this pony.

"What kind of food do you grow?" asked Applejack. "Any apples?"

"Oh yes! In fact, my aunts have an orchard back home."

"Well, then you should come down to Sweet Apple Acres some time. We got the best apples in all of Ponyville."

"In all of Equestria!" Pinkie Pie added.

"By the way, do you live with your aunts?"

"No, I just visit from time to time," Tammy explained. "I actually live with my dad."

"What about your mom?" Pinkie asked.

Her face fell and the ponies didn't bring the topic up again. While the others continued with their questions, Twilight turned to the draconequus.

"Discord, may I speak with you for a second?"

He didn't hear her at first, because he was staring at the beautiful pegasus sitting beside him. "Hmm?"

She cleared her throat. "May I speak with you _privately_?"

He snapped out of his trance. "Oh, of course, _your highness_! Excuse me, Fluttershy. I have a private audience with the princess."

Twilight rolled her eyes and led him into the kitchen. She shut the door with her magic so no one would hear.

"Now," she began, "you know you are supposed to send the human back today…"

"Can't she stay for a teensy while longer?" he begged. "I mean…it's not every day I find someone who appreciates my work."

"What?"

"We had a little talk last night and I showed her some of my tricks. She was quite impressed, unlike _some_ pony I know."

She sighed. "I'll admit I'm interested in knowing more about this human world."

"If you want, I can send you there so you can get a front row seat."

"No! I mean thank you, but based on Tammy's reaction to us, I feel our presence in the human world would cause more of a stir there than Tammy's presence would here in Equestria. Also, there's something in the way that girl talks about home that makes me think she's reluctant to go back. Did you see how she reacted when she was asked about her family?"

He tapped his chin. "She did mention something about her father coming home late every night, but she wouldn't say a word about her mother."

"It seems like she could use a break, don't you think?"

"So she can stay?"

"If you can't send her back."

"Come on, it wouldn't hurt to…"

"Let me say that again. She can stay if you are somehow unable to send her back."

Twilight winked at him. Discord was confused at first, but then smiled evilly.

"Oh. Why, Twilight Sparkle, I didn't know you could be so…devious."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said, walking back into the living room.

Pinkie Pie was examining Tammy's feet. "This is so weird! What do you use these toes for?"

"I…I…" the girl started. "I don't know."

"Are you ready to return home, Tammy?" the alicorn asked.

"Oh, right. Yeah, I guess so. But…" she looked down at her nightwear. "Discord?"

"What?" he shrugged. "Is it the shirt? It was only a joke."

"I can't go out in pajamas."

"Fine, fine."

He snapped his fingers and she was back in her green t-shirt and jeans.

"You ready to go?" Discord inquired.

"Sure." Tammy faced the ponies. "Thanks for everything."

Pinkie Pie attacked her with a hug around the waist and looked up at her with teary eyes. "Come back soon!"

"Nice meeting ya," Applejack said, holding out a hoof for her to shake.

"Do come back again so I can do something about that outfit of yours," said Rarity.

"It's been lovely having you as a houseguest," Fluttershy commented.

"Feeling's mutual," Tammy replied, yanking the pink pony off. "Okay, Discord. I'm ready."

"Alright!" the draconequus explained. "You might want to hold on to something."

She quickly grabbed his paw before he snapped them out of Equestria.

* * *

After the flash, Tammy and Discord appeared in a city. The girl was confused.

"Well, here we are," her companion said. "I guess I'll be on my way and…"

"This isn't my aunt's farm."

"So? I got you back to your world, didn't I?"

Tammy looked around and gasped when she saw the Empire State Building.

"Discord, we're in New York! This is like a thousand miles away from my home!"

"Oops," the draconequus laughed. "Must have miscalculated the distance. Oh well, you can get on a plane and… Ow!"

She had kicked him in the knee. "Take me home, now!"

"Alright, alright! Hold your horses!" He started laughing, but then stopped when he did a double-take on who he was talking to. "You know that would have been funny if you were a pony?"

He snapped his fingers again and Tammy threw her arms around her body as she felt a sudden drop in temperature. Everything was white and her feet were buried in snow.

"What the…?" she said, teeth chattering. "Are…we…on…Mount Everest?"

Discord, who was bundled up in a winter coat and hat, shrugged. "You tell me. This is your world, not mine."

"D-Discord!"

"Calm down! Third time's the charm, right?"

In a second, Tammy was no longer cold, but she could not breathe. Her eyes widened when she saw nothing but stars around her. She closed her mouth.

"Well, what do you know?" said Discord, floating beside her in an astronaut suit. "I've always wanted to see what the stars looked like up close."

Tammy, turning blue from lack of oxygen, screamed through her mouth.

"Oh, sorry!"

With another snap of his fingers, outer space vanished, but Tammy still couldn't breathe, because their next location was underwater.

"Much better!" Discord cried, swimming past her in scuba gear. "I do prefer scuba diving to space travel, don't you?"

"Discord!" the girl tried to scream, but it only came out in bubbles. She shut her mouth before any more seawater could enter.

The Master of Chaos sighed. "You're no fun!"

He snapped his talons and Tammy let out a long breath, spitting out the seawater.

"What's going on here?!" she shouted at the draconequus. "I thought you were an expert at this sort of thing!"

"Well, excuse me," he said, crossing his arms. "I can't help it if my magic works differently outside of Equestria."

"Well, at least we're someplace with air. Where are we now?"

They were in some sort of grassy field.

"Wow," Discord marveled.

"What?"

"You _do_ have some chaos in this world! Look at the sun!"

Tammy turned around and shrieked. In the center of the sun was the face of a baby.

"Oh no! Just..._no_!"

"Based on your reaction, I'm guessing this isn't normal?"

"I don't think we're in my world anymore."

"Really? Where are we then?"

"If we're where I think we are, then coming over that hill should be…"

Sure enough, four figures appeared, one purple, one green, one yellow and one red. Even though they sang their names aloud, Tammy didn't need to hear them. She slapped her forehead.

"Get us out of here!"

"Why? Can't we stay and watch the show?"

"No! Anything but that!"

Discord rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. This time, he was the one to scream. They were surrounded by animatronic children dressed in outfits from around the world singing: "_It's a small world after all…_"

"What IS this hell hole?!"

"Disney World," Tammy said, raising an eyebrow. "Haven't been here in a while. Actually, can we stick around for a little bit?"

"No!" He had them out of there in an instant, zapping them back to Fluttershy's cottage.

The ponies were confused to see that they had returned. When Fluttershy saw Discord's frightened face, she nuzzled his paw, which comforted him.

Rainbow was the first to speak. "Um, I don't know if you notice, Discord, but…SHE'S STILL HERE!"

"The horror! The horror!" Discord stammered.

"There, there," Fluttershy cooed. "What's happened to him?"

"Don't ask," Tammy said, shaking her head. "To put it simply, this guy here nearly _killed_ me! Once by freezing, and twice by suffocating! He snapped us to various places, some I _really_ want to forget, but none of which were even close to the farm!"

The yellow pegasus looked at her friend suspiciously. "Discord?"

The draconequus took a breath and calmed down. "Sorry, I tried, but my magic isn't the same outside of Equestria. And I can't try again. That last trip really took it out of me." He zapped up an ice pack for emphasis.

Rainbow Dash huffed. "Great! Now we're never gonna be rid of _that_!" She pointed judgingly at Tammy.

"What am I gonna do?" the girl lamented, turning toward the princess. "Am I ever going to get home?"

"It would seem as if that journey will be delayed," Twilight said. "Which means you will be staying in Ponyville a little longer."

"Yay!" Pinkie Pie cheered.

"If that's the case," Tammy said, "I want to have a look around. I know you don't want to freak anyone out, but I can't stay cooped up in this cottage."

"Indeed," Twilight noted, "which is why we will have to..." She tried to find the right words. "…make a change in your appearance."

The girl looked at Rarity. "If you mean my clothes…"

"I mean we will have to turn you into a pony."

Tammy's eyes widened. "Me? A pony?" She laughed. "Wait. You can do that?"

"_I _can't, but I know someone who can."

The princess turned to the draconequus, who made a massive recovery and grinned wildly.

"It would be my pleasure!"

"Hold up!" Tammy protested. "You can't get me home, but you can turn me into a different species?"

"Hey, I'm complicated!"

"But he'll only do it with your consent," Twilight interjected.

Tammy thought about it. She was clearly going to be here for a while, and if changing her form was the only way to get around, then that is what she had to do.

Her response was a simple nod.

"Excellent!" Discord exclaimed, getting his fingers ready. "Oh, what would you like to be? A unicorn, a pegasus, an alicorn, or a regular, boring old earth pony?"

"Hey!" Applejack and Pinkie Pie shouted.

The girl looked around at the ponies. The idea of having a horn growing out of her head freaked her out for some reason, though she didn't say it aloud.

"Well, I've always wanted to fly…"

"It's settled then!"

"Wait a second!" she cried in last minute panic.

A white light enveloped her and Tammy felt herself shrink. She could no longer feel her hands or feet. She crouched down on all fours and a searing pain emerged in her back. She closed her eyes, screaming for it to stop.

In a few seconds, it did. There was no more pain, but everything felt so different. Tammy opened her eyes. The ponies were all her size now and were staring down at her.

"Whoa," Spike uttered.

"Much better," Rarity complimented.

"Well?" she said. "How do I look?"

The unicorn led her towards the mirror. Tammy let out a gasp. _Oh. My. God._

* * *

**Yeah, I think you knew that part was coming eventually.**

**Teletubbies. Sorry, I just _had_ to include that! And the It's a Small World ride! Disney World's my home away from home, but I can just imagine how much torture that ride would be for Discord!**


	6. Flight Lesson

**Since the last chapter was really long, this one will be short.**

* * *

Her brown hair and hazel eyes were the same, but the rest of her body had changed completely. She was a pony, with hooves and everything. Her fur was sea-green. She didn't understand why until she remembered that had been the color of her shirt. She stared in awe at the pair of wings on her back. Her long tail was brown like her hair. She just couldn't believe it. _I'm a pegasus!_

Then she got a look at her flank and screamed. Discord groaned. "_Now_ what's wrong?"

"You tattooed my butt!"

Every pony laughed.

"That's not a tattoo," Twilight explained. "That's your cutie mark."

"My cute what?" Tammy questioned.

"Your cutie mark. All ponies get them when they realize their special talent."

Tammy looked in the mirror again. On her flank was a picture of an acoustic guitar.

"Oh, well that makes sense."

"So you chose to be a pegasus," Rainbow Dash said with a shrug. "You have good taste."

"This is so cool! Do I get to fly now?"

"Not so fast," Twilight said. "We need to work on your back-story. You're from Manehattan, and you've come to Ponyville to…" she looked at Tammy's cutie mark, "find inspiration for your next song."

"Wait. _Mane_hattan?" She smirked. "And here Discord was saying you ponies had no sense of humor."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Sure, I guess I can pretend I'm from Manhattan…I mean _Mane_hattan."

"Also, we may have to change your name. No offense, but Tammy's not exactly common here."

"I already call her Taffy," Discord suggested.

Tammy shrugged. "Yeah, sure. At least it's a name I'm used to."

"Now that she's a pony," Pinkie Pie said excitedly, "can I throw her a welcome party now?"

Twilight laughed. "Sure, Pinkie."

"Yay! Ooh, I have to make cake, put up the decorations, send out invitations to every pony in Ponyville… Give me until this evening!"

With that note, the pink pony was out like a bullet.

"Is she always that enthusiastic?" Tammy asked.

"Are you kidding?" Rainbow Dash chuckled. "That's her when she's stressed."

"So how would you like to spend your first day in Ponyville?" Twilight inquired.

"You think you could give me a tour? But before you do that," she glanced behind at her new wings, "how do these babies work?"

"I'll give that honor to the best flyer in all of Equestria."

Rainbow Dash forgot her dislike for the human for a moment. "Of course! Step outside, kid. I'll show you how it's done!"

Tammy and the other ponies followed the pegasus out the door.

"Okay, first, you gotta spread your wings out like this."

She demonstrated by opening her blue ones. Tammy closed her eyes and tried to copy her, but to no avail.

"Don't think about it!" Rainbow shouted. "Just feel it!"

"I'm trying!"

"Look, in order to fly, ya gotta have a clear head. It's something you have to feel, kind of like dancing. So get rid of all thoughts and focus on what you want your wings to do."

"Um, okay."

Tammy took a breath and counted backwards from ten. She always did this before a test. She focused on her main goal. _I just want to fly._ Sure enough, her wings opened. She gaped at them and poked the soft feathers.

"This is so freaky," she muttered. "What do I do now?"

"You flap them," Rainbow replied.

The rookie pegasus tried, but her wings barely moved.

"What I always do," her coach advised, "is imagine myself touching the sky and my wings take me there. After a while, it will become natural. Try it."

Tammy shut her eyes and imagined herself flying high. It must be wonderful, to have the freedom to go wherever you want, to have no one keeping you grounded.

"That's it! Keep going!"

"Huh?"

She opened her eyes and gasped. Not only were her wings flapping, but she was hovering a few inches off the ground.

"You're doing great! Now we gotta gain some altitude." Rainbow flew underneath and lifted her student up. "I'll give you a boost. Don't worry, I won't let go."

"Oh no!" Tammy protested. "I know this tactic! My mom did the same thing to me when teaching me to ride a bike! You're just gonna let go the minute I start!"

"I won't let go! I promise!"

She rolled her eyes but let Rainbow push her anyway.

"The key is to not look down. You need a target. Hmm. See that cloud up there?"

"Uh-huh."

"Try getting up that high. Remember, don't think. Feel!"

Tammy continued to flap her wings and focused on getting up to that cloud. She had the temptation to look down, but resisted. When she was as high as the cloud, she stopped, but kept flapping.

"Okay, now what?"

This time, she did look down. Her coach was waving at her from several feet below.

"I knew it! You let go! They always…" She trailed off as realization hit her. "Wait a minute. I'm flying. I'm flying!" She laughed and flew in a circle. "I'm flying!"

Rainbow gained altitude and hovered beside her. "Not bad for a beginner."

"This is AWESOME!"

"Wait! Tammy, watch out for that…!"

But Tammy wasn't paying attention to where she was going and crashed into something feathery.

"…falcon."

After Rainbow Dash pulled the two apart, the falcon spitted furious words at Tammy.

"I have no idea what you're saying, but sorry!"

The bird ignored her words and left in an angry huff.

"One more thing," Rainbow said. "You might want to do _some_ thinking about where you're going."

The other ponies had been watching from below and cheered as Tammy got the hang of flying.

"I think she will want a flying tour," Twilight said, turning to her friends, "unless, you want to join us."

"I better get back to the farm," Applejack said. "It's the Zap Apple Harvest, you know? We're gonna be a might busy. Y'all should bring Tammy, err, Taffy, over to see them. They really are quite a sight."

"And I have to get down to the shop," said Rarity. "I have some very important orders to fill out."

Spike perked up. "Anything I can help you with, most beautiful one?"

"Well, I do need help taking out the trash. Do bring Tammy—Taffy over some time this afternoon. I really must fix her look."

The earth pony and unicorn trotted home, Spike gleefully following the latter.

"What about you, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.

"If I'm going to have her as a houseguest a little while longer," Fluttershy replied, "I'm going to have to restock on food."

"No need for that, my dear," Discord insisted. "I can zap up whatever food you need."

"Thank you, Discord, but I prefer to go shopping. I need to stretch my legs anyway."

"At least let me come with you."

"Well, um, I don't know…"

He pretended to pout. "You're not embarrassed to be seen with me, are you?"

"No! It's just that last time I took you shopping…"

"Why Fluttershy, I'm offended!"

"I'm sorry, but I really prefer…"

"Fine, whatever. I'll just stay here, all alone…"

He put a paw to his forehead for dramatic effect.

"Well, as long as you behave yourself…"

"Excellent! Let's go!"

He then zapped them both to the market place. Twilight shook her head with a smile and then flew up to the two pegasi.

"Alright, Taffy, let's give you a tour of Ponyville."

* * *

**At least I figure that's how you fly. Then again, how would I know? I really want to though. That's why Tammy's a pegasus (I wanna be one too!).**


	7. Tour of Ponyville

**Despite the title, most of this is more Fluttercord fluff, inspired by a fanfic by FanOfCartoons. I was going to add more, but I thought it would work better as it's own chapter, so you'll read it next update. Now that it's Spring Break, I can get more done!**

* * *

"Right there is Sugar Cube Corner," Rainbow Dash said, pointing. "That's where Pinkie Pie works. It's owned by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. They make the best baked goods in all of Ponyville!"

"Ooh!" Tammy cried. "Can we go try some?"

"That's also where Pinkie is hosting your party," Twilight said. "We'll swing by this evening." She gestured towards another building. "Over there is Rarity's shop, Carousel Boutique. We'll stop there before the party so Rarity can give you a makeover."

"Why does she hate my hair so much?"

Twilight laughed. "That's just Rarity. She has to give _every_ pony a makeover."

The human turned pegasus panted. "Phew, my wings are getting tired."

"It's like that for the first couple of days or so. I only recently got wings myself. You'll get used to it."

"I think we should take a break from flying and walk the rest of the way," Rainbow suggested. "You don't want to stress your wings too much when using them the first time."

The three slowly descended to the ground, landing right outside of City Hall.

"You said you got your wings only recently," Tammy repeated to Twilight. "You mean you didn't have them before?"

The alicorn giggled. "It's a long story. You see, I was born a unicorn and when I was a filly in Canterlot, Princess Celestia made me her protégé."

"A while back, she was sent to Ponyville," Rainbow continued with a chuckle. "In fact, Twilight and I met at this very spot. Ha, you remember how goofy I made your mane look?"

"Regretfully. Anyway, I met all my friends and since I didn't want to leave them, Princess Celestia allowed me to live here and study the Magic of Friendship. My studies brought me so far that I was granted these wings and crowned a princess!"

"So shouldn't you be living in a castle or something?" Tammy wondered.

"I have my own room at the palace, but my home is here in Ponyville. It's kind of weird getting so much attention in Canterlot, but here I'm treated like the unicorn I was before."

"Oh, Princess Twilight!" The three turned to see the Mayor bowing. "How are you today, your highness?"

"Splendid," Twilight politely responded. "How's the re-election campaign coming along, Mayor Mare?"

Tammy tried to hide her snickering.

"Oh, the competition's a little shaky."

"Well, you have my full support."

"Oh, thank you, your highness!"

The Mayor backed away slowly and then rushed into City Hall. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so not _every _pony's used to my new position."

The pegasi laughed. Tammy stopped as her stomach grumbled.

"Hey, you think we could get a snack?"

"Snack?" Rainbow questioned. "You had twenty pancakes for breakfast!"

"I have a monstrous appetite. Sometimes, I get so hungry I could eat a horse!" Her laughter died down once she saw her companions' horror-stricken faces. "Sorry. Figure of speech."

"I think now's the time to head on over to Sweet Apple Acres," Twilight suggested. "It's the Zap Apple Harvest, which means they'll be making zap apple jam!"

"What are zap apples?"

Rainbow patted her on the back. "You'll see."

* * *

Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Discord were walking through the marketplace. Fluttershy had made a quick shopping list using a quill and paper that Discord had summoned for her.

"Let's see," the yellow pegasus pondered. "We need carrots for Angel, strawberries…do humans like strawberries?"

The draconequus shrugged. "From what I understand, humans will eat anything. Or is that just me?"

As they walked by, Discord noticed an orange stallion with a horseshoe cutie mark staring dreamily at Fluttershy. She was unaware, but it made the draconequus angry. He left his companion for a moment and picked the stallion up with his tail.

"Don't even _think_ about it, punk!" he threatened.

"T-Think about what?" the terrified stallion stammered.

"You were staring at that pegasus over there."

"S-So what? She's p-pretty."

"True as that is, you can't have her! She's mine! Got it?" The stallion gulped and nodded. "Good."

As soon as he dropped him, the stallion ran away. _Next time, he'll think twice before making goo-goo eyes at _my_ Fluttershy!_ He couldn't blame the stallion, however. Fluttershy _was_ pretty. Who _wouldn't_ make goo-goo eyes at her?

He then realized that he had separated himself from his friend. He glanced around and found her at Carrot Top's stand.

"Three bits for one bunch of carrots?" Fluttershy repeated. "But last week it was only two bits!"

"It's been a tough week," Carrot Top explained. "I'm low on stock."

"Oh, in that case, I should give you four bits."

"Deal!"

The orange haired pony shrieked when Discord materialized in front of her. "Excuse me? What do you think you're doing?"

"Running a business here!"

"What business do you have taking advantage of some pony's generosity by overcharging them?"

"Look, I'm down to my last batch of carrots, I…"

"Too bad! Four bits is too much! You will charge the lady two bits and no more!"

"Okay," Carrot Top whimpered.

Discord smiled. "Excellent! Fluttershy, give the pony her money."

The pegasus sighed and handed Carrot Top her two bits.

"What's next on the list?"

Fluttershy checked her piece of paper. "Strawberries. They should be over there."

As she walked up to the stand, a gray pegasus with wonky eyes dashed in front of her.

"Um, excuse me, Derpy?" she said with confidence in her voice. She tried to remember her assertiveness training. "I believe you cut in front of me."

Derpy turned her head but didn't move. "Sorry, Fluttershy, didn't see ya."

"So if you would move to the back of the line…"

"But I need the strawberries! They're my favorite!"

"Oh, well that's okay…"

Discord grunted and picked up the blonde pegasus. "Listen, you! Fluttershy was here first! So get to the back of the line where you belong!"

"Okay," Derpy sniffed.

The draconequus dropped her behind him.

"Discord…" Fluttershy started to say.

"Well, go on, my dear. We're next."

After purchasing the strawberries, Fluttershy pulled her friend aside.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that."

"Do what?" Discord asked innocently.

"Whenever we go out, you're mean to every pony."

"Not _every_ pony. Just the jerks who like to take advantage of you."

"Well, it's not very nice…"

"What's the harm in me defending your honor?"

_Isn't that what men do for the women they love?_ He thought to himself.

"It's very sweet and all, but I don't like every pony being afraid of me."

He chuckled. "Afraid of _you_? My dear, I believe it's _me_ they're afraid of."

"Even when you're _not_ with me, whenever some pony sees me, they run away for fear of making you angry."

"Then they should know better! Mess with you, mess with me!"

Fluttershy sighed and shook her head. Discord knelt down to her.

"Listen, I'm just looking out for you. A sweet pony like you shouldn't have to put up with jerks like them."

"I know you want to protect me, but must you be so harsh? I mean Derpy there…she's a little…um…" She tried to find the right words. "Sensitive. Couldn't you be less brash?"

She looked up at him with her innocent eyes. It made the draconequus soften every time. Then he sighed.

"Fine, I'll tone it down a bit, but only for you, my dear."

She smiled. "Thank you. Come on, we have many more things to get."

He groaned as he watched her trot to the next stall. Then he noticed another stallion watching her as well. He glared and with a snap of his fingers, a water balloon splashed on his head. Fluttershy heard the stallion's scream as he ran away. She turned accusingly to her friend.

"What?" he shrugged. "I said a _bit_, not a _lot_."

A slight giggle escaped her lips. "What am I going to do with you?"

* * *

**Yep, background ponies!**


	8. Sweet Apple Acres

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. Now I get to write about my favorite pony: Applejack!**

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When they arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, Tammy was amazed at how many apple trees there were. There must have been ten times more than there were at her aunts' farm! She was even more amazed when they reached an orchard filled with multi-colored apples.

"What kind of apples are those?" she asked, pointing.

"Zap apples," Rainbow explained. "You'll love 'em!"

"Applejack looks like she could use some help," Twilight noted. "We should go ask."

The three flyers drifted to the ground, landing in front of the southern pony kicking an apple tree.

"Howdy, y'all," Applejack greeted. "I'd like to chat, but we gotta buck all these here zap apples before they disappear."

"Yup," a red stallion nodded.

"Can we help?" Rainbow Dash offered.

"Sure thing," Applejack agreed. "We can show Tammy—Taffy how it's done around here."

"Oh!" Twilight exclaimed. "I just remembered! I still haven't finished that book on myths and legends the princess asked me to read! I'd hate to leave, but…"

"It's okay, Twilight. Yerr studies come first."

The alicorn smiled and flew off. Tammy looked up at the rainbow fruit.

"I've never seen apples like this before."

Applejack chuckled. "I'm guessin' y'all don't grow zap apples back at yerr farm. Wouldn't be surprised. They're magic."

Tammy noted the rainbow colors and nodded.

"Let me introduce ya to my family here. This here's my brother, Big Macintosh, and this little filly here's my sis, Apple Bloom. Big Mac, Apple Bloom, this here's Taffy. She's new around these parts."

She was met with the big red stallion and a small yellow pony with a pink bow tied in her red hair. The latter held out her hoof.

"Howdy do, Taffy? Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!"

Tammy tried to contain her squeal as she shook the little yellow hoof. _She's so freaking adorable!_

"Taffy here is gonna help us with the harvest," Applejack announced.

"That's great!" Apple Bloom cheered, jumping up. "We're gonna need all the help we can get!"

"Yup," Big Macintosh agreed.

The green pegasus looked up at the trees. "How are we supposed to pick those if we don't have any fingers?"

Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom wrinkled their noses in confusion. Applejack just laughed.

"Like this."

She demonstrated by kicking her back legs against a tree. The force of her kick shook all the zap apples out of the tree and into the baskets set underneath. The pony proudly crossed her front hooves.

"It's a lot o' hard work, but it really pays off."

_I like her_, Tammy decided.

"Now you try."

She nodded and went over to an unpicked tree. She looked over at her back legs and hoped those karate lessons would pay off. Closing her eyes, she kicked her hooves out at the tree and as a force of habit, cried, "Hi-ya!"

She opened her eyes to see half the apples fall into the barrels.

"You'll get used to it," Applejack assured her. "Once we're done, we'll make some jam out of them zap apples."

Tammy's stomach growled again at the mention of food, but she did not want to be rude and so did not ask for a snack. Instead, she and Rainbow Dash helped the Apples buck the trees.

"So where are you from?" Apple Bloom asked the newcomer.

"Um, it was…" Tammy tried to remember the name. "Manehattan!"

The little filly's amber eyes widened. "Manehattan?! That's where my cousin Babs lives! Have you met her? Babs Seed?"

"It's a…big island."

"You mean city."

"Right! City! Exactly what I meant!"

"I reckon this all must be new to a city pony like you."

"Actually, my aunts own an apple farm."

"Really? Huh. I thought we were the only apple growing family in Equestria."

It was then that Tammy finally noticed her blank flank. "Hey, how come you don't have a…?" She could not remember the word, but Apple Bloom knew what she was going to say.

"A cutie mark?" She hung her head. "I don't have one yet. I still need to find my special talent."

"Oh." Tammy glanced around at the orchard. "It's not in apple farming?"

"I know, right?! My whole family is in the apple business! Well, except for my Aunt and Uncle Orange, but they're from my ma's side of the family."

"Well, you're young and there's plenty of time to know what you're good at."

"But every pony else in my class has a cutie mark! Every pony but me and my friends. They laugh at us because of it."

Tammy then understood. Earning a cutie mark was a rite of passage, a sign of growing up, like losing your first baby tooth. Then Apple Bloom glanced over at Tammy's mark.

"Hey, how did you earn your cutie mark?"

"Oh, um…" Tammy wanted to tell her she had only just received it today, but quickly decided to tell her how she had chosen to be a country star. "You see, I love country music and have always been a fan of Taylor Swift…"

"Who?" Apple Bloom questioned.

"You've never heard of…?" Then she remembered where she was. "She's a famous singer back where I'm from. Anyway, I wanted to be just like her, so I begged my dad to let me take guitar lessons. I turned out to be pretty good and started to write a few songs of my own. I guess somewhere along the way, this thing appeared."

The filly smiled, signaling that her story was satisfying enough. "That's great. It's like you knew what your special talent was right away."

"Not really. When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut. Then I wanted to be a dancer, and then a doctor. It took a while before I found my calling."

Apple Bloom sighed as her pink bow drooped. "I wish I could find mine."

"Well what are you good at?"

"Nothing! I've tried hang gliding, scuba diving, cupcake making, dancing, journalism, zip lining, chicken herding…"

"Whoa, okay then! I see you've tried a lot of things. That's good. My mom used to sign me up for all kinds of activities: ballet, choir, soccer, karate. It drove me crazy, but after a few years I realized that she only signed me up for so much so I could find what I was interested in. Singing seemed to stick, and karate I only continued to take care of the bullies at school."

"Already tried karate _and_ kung fu! Didn't work."

"Just find what interests you and you'll find your talent."

A few minutes later, Tammy met up with Applejack.

"How ya doing?" she asked as she bucked another tree.

The green pegasus wiped the sweat from her brow. "This is a lot harder than what we do at my aunts' farm."

"How exactly do you harvest apples there?"

"We get a ladder and we pick them with our hands."

Applejack whistled. "That must take forever!"

"It does! It's fun, though."

"Why don't ya try buckin' 'em?"

"Our legs aren't really designed for this. Besides, we have arms and hands, remember?"

"Oh, right. Well, I suppose if y'all have hands, y'all gotta use 'em for somethin'."

"By the way, your little sister there's adorable!"

The cowgirl laughed. "Isn't she? I wish she'd see just how special she is, but until she gets her cutie mark…"

"Yeah, she told me about that. This whole cutie mark thing, does that mean whatever you do with your life must reflect the picture on your butt?"

"Usually, but not always. For instance, Pinkie's talent is throwing parties and making others smile, but she also makes yummy baked goods at Sugar Cube Corner."

"But what if you change your mind? What if you decide to make a career change?"

"Trust me, I tried that. I switched to cherries instead of apples, and that didn't turn out so well. Based on yerr cutie mark, I reckon ya wanna be a country singer."

Tammy nodded. "It's my dream."

"Well, according to that picture on yerr flank, it's yerr destiny."

This made the human excited. Then Applejack let out a chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I was just rememberin' when Twilight accidentally cast that spell that switched all our cutie marks and changed our destinies. Rarity was controllin' the weather, Rainbow was takin' care of animals…"

"And almost eaten by them!" the pegasus shouted from afar.

"Fluttershy was tryin' to make ponies laugh, Pinkie was buckin' apples, and…" Applejack fell to the ground. "I was makin' dresses!"

Tammy burst out laughing. "You? Making dresses?!"

"I know! And I was horrible at it!"

She clutched her gut and joined the pony in the grass. "Oh my gosh! I'm sorry, it's just…you…at a sewing machine…making a dress…I _can't_ see that happening!"

"Ya know what else?" Applejack said, rolling to her side. "Rarity's diamonds weren't even my color!"

The two started crying tears of joy.

"You say Rainbow Dash had Fluttershy's cutie mark?"

"Yep."

"That hard core pony with _butterflies_ on her butt and taking care of animals? What did you call her? Flutterdash?"

"How about…Rainbowshy?"

"Or Flutter Rainbow?"

"Or Dash Shy?"

"How about my hoof in your face?!"

They opened their eyes to see an angry pegasus standing over them. Instead of being intimidated, they just laughed again.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny. You wouldn't be laughing if _you_ were the one tied up in a pot surrounded by cannibal rodents!"

The two could hardly breathe. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Aren't we supposed to be working here?"

Tammy stopped when she heard her stomach growl. "Gee, I forgot that the reason we came here was because I was hungry."

Applejack wiped away her tears and sat up. "Why don't we take a break? It's around lunchtime, anyway."

She whistled for her siblings and they all followed her into the barn.

"We should still have some fritters," she said, searching the kitchen cupboards. "Ah, here we are. Help yourselves."

They were the best apple fritters Tammy had ever tasted, even better than her Aunt Molly's.

"If we had to choose," Rainbow said with her mouth full, "I'd much rather have switched cutie marks with you, AJ, instead of Fluttershy."

"Me too," Tammy commented. "Farming sure has its rewards."

There was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Apple Bloom volunteered.

She returned a few seconds later with two fillies her age. One was an orange pegasus with a purple pixie cut and the other was a white unicorn with a curly pink and purple mane. Tammy felt like she was going to die from their cuteness.

"Hey, Scoots," Rainbow waved.

The little pegasus jumped up excitedly. "Rainbow Dash! I didn't know you were gonna be here!"

"I'm helping AJ with the Zap Apple Harvest. You come to help too?" She playfully rubbed the filly's mane.

"Yeah, Sweetie Belle and I wanted to see if farming was our special talent."

"You're not still obsessing over your cutie mark, are you? I told you kid. You wanna get your cutie mark, find an awesome talent!"

"Ahem," Applejack coughed.

"No offense, AJ. I just don't think Scootaloo here is apple material."

The unicorn then noticed Tammy. "Who's this?"

"This is Taffy," Apple Bloom introduced. "She's from Manehattan like Babs. These are my best friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle."

"We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Scootaloo proclaimed proudly.

"Oh yeah," Tammy said. "Apple Bloom said you didn't know your talents yet."

"You said your name was Taffy, right?" Sweetie Belle asked. "My sister mentioned you! She said something about your 'horrid coiffure,' but I think your mane looks fine."

"You're Rarity's sister?" She could see the family resemblance.

"She didn't tell you about me, huh? Figures."

"No, I think she mentioned your name once, but I didn't know she was talking about her sister."

Sweetie Belle looked at the green pony's cutie mark. "Ooh, you play guitar?"

"Sure."

"Could you play a song for us?"

"I guess, but I didn't bring my guitar with me."

"We have a guitar in the attic!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "It belonged to our pa!"

Applejack's face fell. "Apple Bloom…"

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"Nope," their brother agreed.

The little pony raced upstairs and came back with an acoustic guitar in her mouth. She handed it to Tammy and then led her to the couch in the living room. The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat on either side of her while the older ponies settled on the floor.

The human turned pegasus gazed down at the guitar in her hooves. _Hooves!_ How was she supposed to play without any fingers? She saw the eager smiles on the young fillies' faces. She just couldn't disappoint those adorable dears. So she closed her eyes, bit her lip and strummed a chord. The instrument was very out of tune and dusty, as if it hadn't been played in years. So after tuning it, she played the song she had started writing the other day. The guitar must have been designed for hooves, for it was not that difficult.

"_Somewhere  
__There's a land of magic  
__There's a land of wishes__  
A land where sunshine  
__Always reigns_

_Sometimes  
__I wish I could be there  
__I wish I could see there  
T__hat land where nothing  
__Is ever the same_."

"I've never heard this song before," Sweetie Belle said when she stopped.

"That's because I wrote it," Tammy explained.

"Really?! Not only do you play music but you _write_ it?!"

"Yeah, but I've been getting writer's block recently. This is all I've managed to write in the past couple of weeks."

"Well, can I make a suggestion?"

She shrugged. "Sure."

"How about for the chorus, you sing:

"_Anything can happen__  
If you close your eyes and dream  
__You could find out that the world  
__Is much more than it seems."_

Tammy was quite impressed by the unicorn's voice. "Wow! That's amazing!"

Sweetie Belle blushed. "Oh, it's nothing."

"Nothing? That was incredible! Mind if I use that?"

"Go ahead, it's okay."

"I'm telling you girl, you've got a gift."

"We keep telling her she has an awesome voice," Apple Bloom pointed out. "She doesn't believe us."

"You're not so bad yourself," Scootaloo said. "Hey, can you teach us how to play that thing? We could be guitar players!"

The three fillies screamed at a volume that would rival Godzilla's howl. "YAY! CUTIE MARK CRUSADER GUITAR PLAYERS!"

Tammy rubbed her ears. "Yeah, okay. But I warn you that it takes times to learn guitar. Besides, I don't think Sweetie Belle needs a music lesson."

"Really?" the unicorn asked.

"Really. Have you ever thought your special talent might be singing?"

She put her hoof to her chin. "Hmm, I do like to sing…"

They were interrupted by an elderly cry. A green aging pony slowly entered the room, her eyes half asleep.

"W-what's this here racket?" she demanded in a grandma voice. "I was takin' a nap and…"

She then hung her head and snored. Applejack chuckled.

"This here's our Granny Smith," she said to Tammy.

One of the strings of the guitar snapped as the name rang in the disguised human's ears. "Did you say…Granny Smith? Like the brand name?"

"I don't know about any brand, but yes, my granny's name is Smith."

She stared at the elderly pony in disbelief. She had heard that name before, not just from the produce isle, but from her aunts. One of the ponies they had mentioned in their stories was one called Granny Smith.

"She wasn't really a grandma," Megan had explained. "Her kids weren't even married yet. She was just so old that everyone called her Granny."

"Her family ran an apple farm called Sweet Apple Acres," Molly had said. "They had the best apples around and Granny Smith made the most delicious apple pies!"

She remembered now, and could not believe it. All those years she had called those stories nonsense, and here was one of the characters, living and breathing…sort of. What were the odds that she would run into her? She wondered if the old pony even recalled her aunts. She certainly would not be able to tell if Tammy was their niece, as she did not look like herself at the moment.

Then Granny Smith opened her eyes and gasped. "By golly! Is that you, Pease Blossom? Ya gone and turned green!"

Tammy glanced around and then pointed to herself. "Are you talking to me?"

"You'll have to forgive her," Applejack said. "She gets a little confused in her old age. Granny, this here's Taffy."

The pony rubbed her head. "I could've sworn… Oh, nuggets. These eyes must be playing tricks on me. How're the zap apples coming along?"

"We have plenty for you to start makin' the jam. That reminds me. We better get back to work!"

Granny Smith watched as the green pegasus followed the others out. "It's uncanny. Maybe…nah, it couldn't be."

* * *

**No, Twilight was not trying to get out of work, I just wanted her out of the scene. THE CMC ARE ADORABLE! Who agrees with me?**


	9. Party Time

**Fair warning: I'm going to be slow on the updates as I have finals fast approaching. That goes for all fics I'm writing.**

* * *

"Why do you suppose your granny called me Pease Blossom?" Tammy asked Applejack as they continued their apple bucking.

"Not sure. I don't know any pony by that name."

"It's weird. That's what Dad used to call Mom."

"Really? Huh, that's strange. How come?"

"Probably because of her love for gardening. She used to grow all kinds of flowers on a balcony."

After kicking another tree, Applejack looked seriously at her new friend. "Tammy, what happened to yerr ma?"

Tammy avoided the question. "I could ask you the same thing about your parents. Where are they, anyway?"

The cowgirl glanced down at her hooves. "Apple Bloom was only a few months old. Ma and Pa got into a fight. She was so upset, she ran into the Everfree Forest. He went after her. Then they ran into some Timberwolves." She sniffed. "They were outnumbered. They didn't stand a chance."

Seeing tears in the pony's eyes made Tammy feel guilty about concealing her emotions and chose to come clean. "It was a car crash that took my mom."

Applejack stopped crying and looked up at her. "You mean a train car?"

"No, an actual car."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. You wanna know the funny thing? She was picking up my birthday cake."

"That's a bummer."

The two looked up to see Rainbow Dash hovering over them.

"Were you eavesdroppin' again?" Applejack asked.

"No. I just happened to hear you." She landed beside Tammy and put a hoof around her. "Hey, these things happen. I lost my mom too."

"Really?" Tammy said.

The pegasus nodded. "I was very little, so I don't remember her much. I was raised by my dad, which could be the reason why I'm such a tomboy."

"It's hard to lose the ones you love," said Applejack, "but even though they're gone, they always remain in your heart."

Tammy could feel her sadness melting away. She looked at the two ponies. When her mom had died, she was so upset that she had shut out all her friends. Since then, she could not emotionally connect with anybody, until now. She didn't know what to say, except, "Thanks."

They turned when they heard a loud scream coming from Scootaloo.

"This is hard!" She shouted, kicking an apple tree. Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement as she did the same. The pegasus filly finally gave up and slumped to the ground. "I didn't want an apple cutie mark anyway."

The older ponies laughed.

* * *

A few hours later, after all the zap apples had been harvested, Granny Smith had made a batch of jam and spread it on bread. Tammy had never tasted anything so incredible in all her life.

"Tastes kind of like Skittles," she claimed.

"What are Skittles?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Twilight then entered the kitchen. "Oh, I see you've all finished. Tam—Taffy, the party at Sugar Cube Corner starts in an hour. We should head over to Carousel Boutique and get ready."

"Count me out!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I'm not letting Rarity stuff me into another frilly outfit!"

"Ditto," Applejack mumbled.

"Can you give me a lift?" Sweetie Belle inquired. "Rarity wants me home before sundown."

"Before ya go," the cowgirl handed Twilight some jammed bread, "take a slice."

Since the alicorn had more experience in flying than Tammy, Sweetie Belle rode on her back to Carousel Boutique. When they entered the shop, they found Spike working as a pin cushion for Rarity. The unicorn was putting together an ensemble on a horse-shaped mannequin. She didn't notice her visitors until Twilight had cleared her throat.

"Oh, Taffy! I was just putting the finishing touches on your dress for the party!"

Tammy gazed up at the dress with a blue bodice and forest green skirt. "That's my dress?"

"Yes. I figured the blue would go well with your brown hair, and it really makes your eyes stand out. Don't you like it?"

"It's great, but," she pointed to the collar, "I'm not exactly the lacey type."

"Oh, of course." Rarity used her magic to remove the lace collar. "There, now almost…" She plucked a pin from Spike and put a sleeve in place.

"Doesn't that hurt?" she asked the baby dragon.

"Thick scales," he declared. "Can't feel a thing."

He then looked dreamily at the unicorn. Tammy could have sworn his eyes had turned to hearts. She then glanced between them and understood. The dragon had a crush on the unicorn, but she seemed to think nothing of it. _What is with all the weird pairings here?_

"Done!" Rarity announced. "Now, let's get to work on your hair."

"What's wrong with it?!" Tammy exclaimed.

"Don't misjudge me, it's a lovely color and goes well with your coat, but it's all tangled! And oh, are those split ends?! It's like you've been taking fashion tips from Applejack! Well, I can fix that."

She clapped her hooves and a screen appeared in front of them. Everything had happened so fast, the only thing Tammy noticed was her hair being tugged at. In a matter of seconds, the screen went away and a mirror was pulled in front of her.

It was the second time that day that Tammy didn't recognize herself. The dress had magically appeared on her body, her wings sticking out of a pair of holes in the back. Rarity had been right about the color, and the puffed sleeves somehow worked. Her hair had been combed and brushed into a long, sleek ponytail hanging down the side. Rarity was waiting for an answer.

"Well?"

"It's…it's…" she was lost for words. "Wow."

"What did I tell you? You look _marvelous_, darling!"

Twilight and Sweetie Belle stomped their hooves in agreement.

"As always, Rarity, you never fail to disappoint," the alicorn said.

"Now let's get you into an outfit, your highness!"

* * *

"You're not letting me go to the party?" Discord asked Fluttershy in bewilderment. "Come on! It's a Pinkie party!"

"I'm sorry," the pegasus apologized. "I want you to go, but last time I took you to a party…"

"So I put a hare in the punchbowl! It was adorable, wasn't it?"

"I'm talking about turning that stallion into a piñata."

"He tripped you on the dance floor!"

She stomped her hoof. "Discord! I've had enough of this! You say you're reformed, but you still do mean things to ponies. Don't you see why every pony hates me? Don't you…?"

She turned from him. Discord put his paw on her shoulder.

"What do you mean? How could any pony hate _you_?"

"Well…" she sniffed. "It's not really me they hate, it's…it's me being friends with you."

"I thought you didn't care about their opinion!"

"Well…they have reason…the way you treat them…you…"

She burst into tears. Discord did not know what to do in this situation. He hated seeing his friend cry, but he had no experience in comforting ponies. So he did the next best thing and made a compromise.

"Look. I promise I won't do any more than the usual harmless pranks. I won't hurt any pony."

She sniffed. "Pinkie Promise?"

"Why does it always…? Fine! I Pinkie Promise."

He crossed his heart and summoned the cupcake. Fluttershy faced him and smiled.

"Okay, as long as you behave yourself."

_The things I do for this pony,_ he thought with a sigh.

* * *

"Oh, we're going to be the belles of the ball!" Rarity exclaimed as she, Tammy, Twilight, Sweetie Belle and Spike approached Sugar Cube Corner.

"I thought we were going to a party," Sweetie Belle said in confusion.

"Never mind."

As they opened the door, they were greeted with a loud "Surprise!"

"Surprise?" Tammy said, raising an eyebrow at the party pony. "But you invited me here."

Pinkie Pie obviously ignored this and dragged her inside. The bakery was decorated with streamers, confetti, balloons and the works. A banner was hung on the wall reading 'Welcome to Ponyville Taffy.' There must have been at least a hundred ponies in the room.

"Let me introduce you to every pony! This is Cheerilee, Caramel, Bon Bon, Derpy, Carrot Top, Colgate, Doctor Whooves, Mayor Mare, Mr. Cake, Mrs. Cake, Pound Cake, Pumpkin Cake, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Twist…"

"Whoa there, Pinkie!" Applejack interjected, grabbing hold of Tammy. "You're gonna make her dizzy!"

"Thanks," the disguised human whispered.

"Well, look at you. Rarity sure fixed you up real nice."

"I know, right? I haven't dressed up like this or been to a party since my twelfth birthday."

Pinkie gasped dramatically. "You haven't been to a party since you were _twelve_?!"

"Well, I don't really get invited, and school dances don't exactly count…"

"Then we'll have to make this party the most super, awesome, amazing party you've ever been to!"

"You might want to brace yourself," Applejack whispered.

"For what?"

"PIN THE TAIL ON THE PONY!"

In less than a second, Tammy was dragged to a wall with a picture of a pony, blindfolded, had something fuzzy put in her mouth and was spun around three times.

"You can do it, Tammy!" she heard Applejack cheer.

_Aren't these ponies a little old for this game?_ Tammy said to herself. Apparently not, for a lot of voices were cheering for her. Sighing, she stepped forward, felt around for the wall, came in contact with the paper and placed the fur forward. There was a lot of laughter, and Tammy took off her blindfold to see that she had pinned the tail on the pony's nose.

"Ah, don't worry, Taffy," Pinkie said cheerfully. "You at least got it on the poster. Now who's up for…BOBBING FOR APPLES?!"

_Oh boy_, Tammy thought as the energetic pony hauled her to the other side of the room. Rainbow Dash had her head in a barrel of apples floating in water. When she resurfaced, Tammy shrieked.

"There's an alligator chewing on her face!"

Pinkie giggled. "Nah, that's just Gummy! He doesn't have any teeth!"

The blue pegasus shook the animal off. "Ugh, not again!"

"Go on, Tammy! Take a shot!"

She glanced down at the barrel, afraid of what else was in there. "I don't know…"

"Come on! It's super fun!"

She took in a deep breath and dunked under. She came up wet and empty.

"Try again!" Pinkie urged.

_What am I doing?_ Tammy then remembered the old trick and kept her eyes open. She slowly leaned forward and carefully took an apple into her teeth.

"Ta-da…oops," she said, dropping the apple in the process.

"Nice job!" Pinkie then paused as a new song started playing. "Ooh, this is my jam! Come on, Taffy! Time to shake your hoof things!"

"Shake my wha...gah!"

Pinkie pulled her to the middle of the dance floor and started grooving to the music. Tammy looked around at all the other ponies dancing. She didn't want to be awkwardly standing there, so she began moving to the beat. Pretty soon, she didn't care that she was being watched and lost herself in the groove.

"Nice moves!"

Tammy glanced down at Scootaloo, who was spinning on one hoof.

"You're not so bad yourself," she complimented. "Where'd you learn how to do that?"

"I just do my scooter tricks, only without the scooter."

"Well, you're really good. Hey, maybe your scooter tricks are your special talent."

Scootaloo stopped to ponder. "Hmm, you think?"

Tammy turned as some pony tapped her on the shoulder. She remembered his name was Caramel.

"Hey, Taffy, was it?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Care for a dance?"

The human glanced behind her shoulder and then back at him. "Me?"

"Do you see any other pony here named Taffy?"

She blinked at him. No one had ever asked her to dance before. Now she had finally received her first invitation and it was from a horse. It was both flattering and embarrassing.

"Uh, no thank you," she said politely.

She moved past him towards the refreshment table, where she was met by a brown pony with an hour glass cutie mark. _What was his name? Doctor something._

"Want to dance?" he asked.

She forced a smile. "Uh, no thanks."

After the stallion had left, she glanced down at herself. How was it that no boy had ever noticed her as a human, but after being a horse for one day, she was suddenly popular?

"I see you've caught the eye of a few males," Rarity said, giving her a wink.

"Yeah," Tammy murmured. "If only they were my species."

"You could at least dance with a few of them."

"They're horses!"

"_Ponies_! And trust me, if you were a pony twenty-four seven, you would see how handsome those stallions are." Tammy pretended to listen as she poured herself some punch, having slight difficulty with her hooves. "And you know, by pony standards, you aren't unattractive."

Suddenly, a hare appeared in the punchbowl and Tammy spat the liquid out. She heard a familiar laugh above her and glanced up.

"Oh, you should have seen the look on your face!" Discord chortled. "Priceless!"

"A hare in the punchbowl," Tammy grumbled. "Funny."

"Glad you appreciate it!" He waved to the crowd. "Hey, every pony! Discord's in the house!"

A couple of stallions, including Caramel and Doctor Whooves, raced out the door, for fear of being turned into piñatas. The draconequus then materialized at the turn tables beside Vinyl Scratch.

"Let's crank up the music, shall we?"

"Oh boy," the unicorn murmured, ducking for cover.

"Discord!" Fluttershy shouted.

With a mischievous grin, he turned the stereo to such a high volume that Tammy's glass shattered, along with every other glass object in the room. Vinyl Scratch took the liberty of pulling the plug. Even she knew when enough was enough. She looked up at Discord angrily and pointed to her broken sunglasses.

"Dude, this is the fifth pair this week!"

"Sorry, but you should really get stronger sunglasses."

Fluttershy flew up to him, glaring. "Discord, you promised."

"I was just having a little fun…"

"Discord!"

He sighed. "Oh, alright."

He snapped his fingers, fixing everything he had broken and returning the music to its previous volume.

"Now I don't want any more mischief from you for the rest of the evening," Fluttershy warned her friend. "Understand?"

"You know you look cute when you're angry?" the draconequus asked innocently.

She gave him one more glare before flying away. Discord slumped himself on a stereo. Tammy walked up to him.

"That's your idea of winning a girl over?"

"Well, what would _you_ suggest?" he snapped.

"How about asking her to dance?"

He opened his mouth and then paused. "Hold that thought."

He transported himself to Fluttershy's side, scaring her into dropping her slice of cake. "Hey Fluttershy, let's dance!"

Discord didn't wait for an answer as he grabbed her hooves and spun her around. Tammy put her hoof to her forehead and groaned.

The rest of the evening went along smoothly. Tammy couldn't remember the last time she had had this much fun. She watched as Pinkie Pie accepted Rainbow Dash's challenge of stuffing cupcakes into her mouth (forty-five!). She talked with many of the ponies and even danced with a couple of stallions. She made the mistake of entering a dance contest with Discord, as he 'accidentally' tripped her with his tail. There were plenty of party games like Twister. Discord beat every pony at that as well. Tammy felt like a kid again!

As the moon rose in the sky, the ponies started to clear out.

"Are you sure you don't wanna stay a little while?" Pinkie asked her best friends. "There's still plenty of cake!"

"No thanks, Pinkie," Twilight grumbled. "I already ate too much. Besides, it's past Spike's bedtime."

She pointed to the baby dragon who had fallen asleep in the punchbowl. She lifted him onto her back.

"So Taffy," she said to the human, "what do you think of Ponyville?"

"What do I think?" Tammy repeated with a grin. "I think it's the most amazing place in the universe! You guys have been so nice, the Zap Apples were delicious, I haven't felt this pretty in years, and the party was awesome! This has been the best day of my life!"

"Happy I brought you here?" Discord asked with a smirk.

"Happy? Dude, happy would be an understatement!"

"I'm glad to hear that," Twilight said. "You should get plenty of rest before we send you back tomorrow."

Tammy's face fell. "Back? Tomorrow?"

"You have your family to get back to, don't you?"

"Oh…right."

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Since you can fly now, how about you crash at my place tonight? I can give you a quick tour of Cloudsdale."

That lifted her spirits a little. "That would be great."

The two pegasi said farewell to the others and took to the skies. Rainbow led Tammy to what appeared to be a city built entirely of clouds. Even though it was night, there were still a few pegasi hovering about. Two stallions, one brown and one tan, stood in their path and laughed.

"Well, if it isn't Rainbow _Crash_!" the brown one taunted.

Rainbow gritted her teeth. "Not now, guys. I'm not in the mood."

They stopped once they noticed Tammy. The tan one laughed goofily.

"Hey, who's your pretty friend?"

Tammy rolled her eyes. "Trust me, dude. You're not my type."

Rainbow chuckled as they steered around the confused stallions.

"Wow," Tammy gasped. "That felt good."

"How so?"

"Guys never hit on me as a human, so I've never had to reject anyone before. And it feels good!"

Her friend laughed and gave her a hoof bump. "You're alright, kid, for a human."

They approached a house and Tammy was astonished when Rainbow Dash landed on the surface of the cloud without falling through.

"It's okay," she said. "Pegasi can walk on clouds."

She hesitantly lowered herself down and realized that Rainbow was right.

"Cool!" she exclaimed.

Inside, Tammy gawked at the structure of the place. Almost everything had been crafted from cloud.

"Designed it all myself," Rainbow said proudly. "Guest bed is over there. Make yourself at home."

Tammy noticed a big pile of books over by what must have been her host's bed.

"I didn't think you were the reading type."

"Not as much as Twilight is, but who doesn't love a good book? _Daring-Do_ is my favorite!"

"By the way, I'm sorry I thought you were a guy and all," Tammy apologized as she slid out of her dress.

"Nah, it happens all the time," Rainbow said as she hopped onto her bed. "Being raised by my dad, _I_ thought I was a guy for a while." She snickered. "I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

The human looked down at her hooves. "Yeah, sure."

The pegasus could see that something was bothering her. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah just…my dad and I haven't really been close since Mom…"

"Oh."

She slumped on the cloud bed. "At first I didn't mind him avoiding me and going to his room. That's what I did too. But after a while, it was like I didn't exist. He kept working late, going on business trips, missing my birthdays, not even congratulating me when I won the school talent show last month! He hardly even looks at me anymore!"

She turned to face the wall and there was silence for a while.

"I was wrong about you, kid," Rainbow said. "I just wasn't used to seeing humans before, but you know? You're no different from us ponies, though you really should have those wings for keeps."

Tammy rolled in her direction and smiled. "Thanks. You know? You guys are the first friends I've had in years?"

"Really?"

"After Mom died, I did nothing but mope and my friends got tired of it. It's great to have someone to talk to."

Rainbow grinned. "I'm gonna miss ya, Taffy. Night."

As she blew out the lamp, Tammy went over the events of that day. She had forgotten what it was like to have fun with friends. She didn't want to leave them. Her train of thought was cut short as the softness of the cloud had lulled her to sleep.

* * *

**Hmm, no dun dun dun, no evil laugh, what do i do?**

**Um...Rate and Review!**


	10. Matchmaker

**Gosh, has it really been two months since I updated this? Sorry. I got really excited on my other MLP fic _Bride of Discord_. Well, now that that's done, I can continue this. Sorry, I kind of rushed this toward the end.**

* * *

She dreamt of her mother that night. She was eight years old and they were on the balcony watering the flowers. Her mother was young and beautiful, with the same brown hair and hazel eyes as her daughter. She was always smiling, always cheerful. That's what Tammy had loved most about her.

"How did you and Daddy meet?" she asked her.

Her smile wavered a moment, and then she giggled. "We were kids when we met. I was out in the woods, admiring the flowers, when suddenly, this boy falls out of a tree and scares me to death! I was afraid at first, but he turned out to be quite friendly and silly. That was your father. We were friends ever since."

"How did you fall in love?"

"Well…when my parents passed away, your father's family took me in. I guess somewhere along the way, we fell for each other."

The scene then changed and the balcony was transformed into darkness. Her mother turned to her in fear.

"Tammy, you have to get home!"

"W-what…?"

"It's dangerous! She knows you're here! She's coming for you!"

"Who's coming?"

Her mother's voice became raspy. "Taffy! Wake up!"

Tammy's eyes shot open and the multi-colored pegasus was standing over her.

"Get up, sleepy head! The sooner you get up, the sooner I can get rid of _him_!"

"Who?" Tammy murmured, rubbing her eyes.

Suddenly, Discord appeared beside her. "Oh, _get up_, would you?!"

She groaned in annoyance and buried her face in her cloud pillow. "Go away."

The draconequus used his magic to pull the blanket from her body. "Are all humans this lazy?!"

"Okay, I'm up!" she sat up and glared at him. "What do you want?"

"Rainbow Dash, would you mind leaving us for a moment?"

"You can't kick me out of my own house!" the pegasus shouted.

With a snap of his fingers, she was transported outside and the door was bolted.

"Now we can talk in private."

"This better be good," Tammy mumbled.

"I'll cut to the chase. You said you knew about romance, right?"

"A little."

He dropped to his knees in desperation. "Teach me! I've tried _everything _I could to impress that pony, but no matter what I do, she seems to push me away! What am I doing wrong?!"

She rolled her eyes. "Gee, it's a mystery."

"I know, right? So will you help me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because it's the right thing to do?"

"I don't know. Maybe you and Fluttershy aren't meant to be."

Discord narrowed his eyes. "Look! I'm your only ticket back home! If you don't help me, I won't send you back! Got that?"

"Maybe I don't want to go back."

"In that case, I _will_ send you back unless you help me!"

"So you'll send me back or you won't. Which one is it?"

He growled and poked Tammy in the chest. "Don't get smart with me, missy! How about this? You help me and I won't turn you into an orange!"

"Okay, okay! I'll help you after I get something to eat."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine!" A plate of waffles appeared in his paw. "Now eat up! I haven't got all day!"

Rainbow Dash pounded hard on the front door. "This is my house, you creep! Let me in!"

* * *

After having breakfast with Rainbow, Discord transported himself and Tammy to a large deserted field.

"Well don't just stand there!" the draconequus snapped. "Teach me!"

"Oh, um…" Tammy stammered. "Where do you want me to start?"

"First tell me why she doesn't like me!"

"Now, I wouldn't say…"

"Okay, why does it _seem_ like she doesn't like me?"

The human tapped her chin. "Let's see, um…how do I put this lightly?"

"Is it my looks?"

"No! Girls like Fluttershy don't care about looks. I think the problem might be that you…come on a bit too strong?"

"Come on too strong? What do you mean?" Tammy was about to answer when he interrupted her again. "Seriously, I've never heard that expression before."

"Oh. You know. Pushing too far? Rushing things?"

"I don't rush things! It's not like I've asked her to marry me or something! Why, I haven't even told her that I l…" He trailed off.

"I'm talking about the party last night, when you asked her to dance? Actually, it was more like you _demanded_ her to dance. Girls don't like it when guys are forceful. Okay, _some_ girls might, but Fluttershy's type usually doesn't."

"So what are you saying? That I should be a wimp and not do anything at all?"

"I'm saying you should be more subtle, more gentlemanlike. You know, be classy. Do stuff for her like open doors, carry her things, go all Sir Walter Raleigh and lay your coat over a puddle…"

"Why would I get my coat wet? I don't even wear a coat!"

"I mean…oh boy." Tammy put her hoof to her head. "Okay, does Fluttershy even hint what's bothering her?"

Discord thought about it. "Well…yesterday she said something about every pony hating her because of me, just because I turned a stallion into a piñata…"

"Whoa, you did _what_?!"

He shrugged. "He tripped her on the dance floor."

Tammy cringed. "Did you, um…that is, um…were there…_other_ guys? Guys that you may have…?"

"Done something to? Well, there was this stallion that asked her on a date and wouldn't take no for an answer and I _may_ have turned him into a mouse…"

She lifted her hoof. "Say no more. I think I see what's going on."

"What?"

"Look, girls don't like bullies, and you…"

He put his hands on his hips, or at least where his hips should have been. "I'm not a bully! Sure, I took over Equestria a few times, but I'm good now!"

"You may not be an evil villain but… Okay, remember how you pulled all those pranks on me?"

Discord cackled. "Oh yes! That stairs thing was the best!"

"Well, I didn't like it. You might think they're harmless pranks, but it really didn't make me comfortable. After all, I was in a new and strange place and you weren't giving me a warm welcome."

"Yes, but it all worked out, didn't it?"

"I'm saying that maybe if you were nicer to other ponies and not just to Fluttershy, she might like you more."

"Oh, yak, yak, yak!" He made a mouth motion with his claw. "This is boring! Get to the interesting part!"

Tammy scowled. "Hey, I'm trying to help you get a girl here!"

"You know what? How do you even know this stuff? Do you have a lot of boyfriends in your world?"

Her face fell and she looked down at the ground. "I…um…"

Discord arched an eyebrow. "You _have_ had a boyfriend, right?"

"This has nothing to do with…"

"But you've been on a date, right?"

"Well…um…"

"Tell me you've at least been kissed!"

Tammy hung her head in shame. Discord threw up his arms.

"Great! I hired an amateur!"

"Hey! The reason I've never been on a date is that I haven't found the right guy yet!" _And the fact that no one's ever asked me out._

"All the same, why should I take advice from you?"

"Because I know what girls like and what they don't like. Besides, I'm the only one who knows your secret, unless you want to put your trust into somebody else…"

"No! I mean…" He groaned. "Okay, okay! But if your advice doesn't work, you'll be nothing but a puddle of chocolate milk!"

"Okay, that's another thing. You should stop threatening people, err, ponies. It's very unsettling, even to a bystander."

"How is this helping? You're just blurting out random stuff!"

"Would you be patient and…?" She calmed herself down and took a deep breath. "Why don't we try something else, like…compliments? What is it about Fluttershy you find the most interesting?"

Discord thought for a moment. "Well…what's _not_ interesting about her? After all, she's…she's…" He eyed Tammy suspiciously. "You better not tell any pony about this!"

"Hey, anything you say is off the record."

"Thank you. As I was saying, she's the kindest, most beautiful pony who has ever lived. She's so delicate and graceful, like a flower. Usually I'd turn a flower like that into a lollipop, but not Fluttershy." He sighed dreamily. "_Fluttershy_. Even her name sounds graceful! I thought nothing of her looks when I first saw her, but when she first called me her friend…it was like an angel had dropped from above!

"Her eyes, they're like staring into the sea, and boy, are they a wonder when she pulls off that Stare of hers! Her mane, so soft like silk. And her voice…oh! Don't get me started on her voice! She's like the embodiment of perfection…everything I'm not. And she doesn't even try! She's just beautiful in her own natural state and she doesn't even know it!

"But it doesn't end there. No! She treats me like she would any other creature, not like a monster. She brings out the good in me, and I can't help but hope…

"If I did have her, I would give her the world if she asked for it. I would run through fire for her sweet sake. I'd be her slave of passion! I'd have no choice, for if I don't see a smile on that beautiful face, my world has no meaning."

In his outburst, he had forgotten that Tammy was still standing there and everything he had been holding back had poured out at that moment. Tammy, meanwhile, had her mouth open.

"Wow," she uttered.

Discord blinked out of his daydream and realized he had said all of that aloud. "Pretend you didn't hear that!"

"Why? That was beautiful!"

He blushed. "You really think so?"

"Dude, _I_ almost wanted to go out with you!"

"Uh…no offense, Taffy, but…you're not exactly my type…"

"No, I mean…" She shook her head and composed herself. "I mean _that's_ the kind of stuff you should be saying to Fluttershy!"

"Don't be ridiculous! If I told her all that…she'll think I'm a fool. Besides, I could never tell her how ravishing she is."

"Why not?"

"I'm afraid…if I do…she'll go after another stallion."

"Oh. But you know something? Fluttershy needs to be told she's beautiful, and that she's as special as you feel she is."

"But that's just it! I'm not worthy of such perfection! I mean have you _looked_ at me lately?"

The expression on his face was something Tammy had not expected of the draconequus. It was a sad, defeated look. She had not thought he was the type of guy who cared what others thought of his appearance, but it turned out he did. He just refused to show it.

"You really like this girl, don't you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Duh, must I repeat that whole soliloquy for you?"

"No, thanks. Maybe what you need is practice. Pretend I'm Fluttershy."

He stood up and raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. Impress me."

"You look nothing like Fluttershy!"

"Just pretend, okay?"

"Nah, this won't cut it for me."

He snapped his fingers and suddenly, Tammy felt lighter. She glanced down and saw that her hooves had turned yellow.

"Oh, you did not!" She covered her mouth as a high, smooth voice came out. "You did!"

He had turned her into Fluttershy.

"Much better!" the draconequus chimed.

"Ugh, fine! So now that I look like Fluttershy, impress me!"

"Um, okay. Wait. What do I say?"

"Compliment me, start a conversation, make a connection, and then, when the time is right, you tell her, um, me how you feel."

"Okay." He took a deep breath. "Uh, hey, Fluttershy! Um…" He rubbed the back of his neck, looking genuinely nervous. "Uh…beautiful weather we're having, right?"

Tammy grunted. "Really? You're talking about the…?"

"Hey, hey! You're supposed to be Fluttershy, remember? Fluttershy would never put any pony down!"

"But…oh, fine!" She tried to be softer. "Uh, yes! Beautiful clear skies!"

"Yeah, clear."

"Now compliment me," Tammy said in a stage whisper.

"Oh, right! Fluttershy, has any pony told you that you have…nice hair?"

"Okay, good start." She cleared her throat. "Thank you! You, um, have nice hair too!"

"Really? You know, I've been using a new hair gel!"

"Alright, time out! You can't talk about yourself too much, let alone brag. She'll think you're more in love with yourself than you are with her. It's okay to talk about yourself once in a while, but be modest about it. Try that last reply again."

"Oh, okay. _Thank_ you for the lovely compliment, my dear."

She was surprised at how cooperative he was being. _Maybe it's because of my latest makeover._

"Good. How about we work on confessing your feelings now?"

Discord gulped. "Okay. How?"

Tammy rubbed her chin. "Let's see…ooh! Flowers!"

He smacked his forehead. "Of course! I can do that!" A bouquet of red and yellow tulips appeared in his paw.

"She likes tulips," he explained.

He held them out to Tammy, but as she sniffed them, water squirted in her face.

"Not what I meant," she grumbled.

"Oops. Sorry. Force of habit." He snapped his fingers. "They're fine now."

Tammy cautiously took the bouquet in her hoof. "Thank you, Discord. They're beautiful."

"Yes, well…nothing compared to you?"

"Good," she whispered. "Are you saying I'm beautiful?"

"Beautiful wouldn't begin!"

"Good, good! Now take my hands, err, hooves! Geez, I can't get used to being a horse."

Discord did as he was instructed. "What do I do now?"

"Look into my eyes and tell me what you really feel. Or, if you're not ready for that, simply ask me out."

He gulped again. "Fluttershy, I…I think…I think you're the most incredible pony I've ever met and…I know we're friends, but…I want us to be more."

"Yes?" Tammy urged.

"Fluttershy, will you…that is, if you want to…?"

"Yes?"

"Will you be…my very special some pony?"

_Oh, is _that_ what they say?_ "I would love to, Discord!"

"Really?" He scooped her into a hug. "Oh, you have made me so happy! I could kiss you!"

"Whoa there!" Tammy screamed. "I'm not really Fluttershy, remember?"

"Oh." His cheeks turned red as he set her down. "Right. So…how was that?"

"Great! Now all you got to do is replicate it with the real Fluttershy, but this time, it should be in a romantic setting. Hmm. I'm thinking a dinner in the moonlight. What's the most romantic place around here?"

Discord tapped his chin. "I see Applejack's brother and that teacher hang out at the gazebo a lot."

"Excellent! We'll get right to it! First we have to clean you up."

"But how will we get Fluttershy there?"

"You just worry about your wooing and leave the rest to me. Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm still Fluttershy."

"Right. Sorry!"

* * *

Daniel Parker was in the middle of his proposal when his Blackberry rang. He cursed himself for forgetting to switch it off. He took it out and read the caller ID.

"Excuse me, Mr. Yuki. I have to take this."

He stepped out of the room and whispered into the device.

"This better be important, Megan. I'm in the middle of a meeting here!"

"Oh, thank God you picked up!" his sister sighed in relief. "It _is_ important, Danny. Tammy's missing!"

Daniel nearly dropped the phone. "What?"

"She's been missing for two days now!"

"But…how? How did this happen?"

"We don't know! It was like she vanished into thin air! Molly has reason to believe she's in…"

"That's impossible! The rainbow was destroyed, remember?"

"All the same, she's gone! You have to come here right away!"

"But the client…"

"She's your _daughter_, Daniel!"

"I…I'll be right there. Wait. Megan, you haven't told her about Irene, have you?"

There was a pause. "No. I assumed Irene was going to tell her, but after…I thought you should…"

"Good, because if Molly's right… Have the police found anything?"

"Nothing, so far."

"Well, let me know if they make any progress."

He hung up and buried his face in his hands, feeling like his world was falling apart.

* * *

**Not much to say except...I'll try to update soon.**


	11. The Cat is Out of the Bag

**Yes, I've seen the trailer for Equestria Girls where Twilight goes into the human world. Oh well, I guess this is AU then.**

**I'm sorry if any pony here is OOC. This chapter was hard to write.**

* * *

"Taffy!" Applejack exclaimed as Tammy walked into the barn. "Rainbow told me you were stickin' around. Somethin' to do with Discord."

"Yeah," the human laughed nervously. "Long story. Anyway, I was wondering if I could borrow your gazebo."

She raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"See…I made this deal with Discord and I just need it for tonight…"

She grinned. "Oh, I see! You're settin' him up with Fluttershy, right?"

"Yeah, I…" Tammy blinked. "Wait. You know?"

The draconequus appeared between them. "How could you possibly know?!"

"Please," the cowgirl huffed. "Ya think I was born yesterday? I see the way ya look at her."

"But…but…"

"Sure ya can borrow the gazebo, so long as ya don't hurt my friend, got that?"

Discord did nothing but nod. Suddenly, Apple Bloom leapt out of a haystack.

"You're playin' matchmaker, Tammy?" she piped.

"Oh, why don't we just tell the whole world, huh?" the draconequus cried.

"My friends and I can help! Just whatever ya do, _don't_ use love potion!"

"No! I want no pony else involved!"

Apple Bloom's eyes grew big as she made a puppy dog pout.

"Come on, Discord," Tammy pleaded in a cutesy voice. "Look at that adorable face! How can you say no to that face?"

"Easy! N…"

The filly's pout would not waver. Even the draconequus could not resist such tragic cuteness.

"Oh, fine!"

"Yay!" Apple Bloom cheered. "Ya hear that girls? We get to try our hoof at matchmakin' again!"

"Yay!" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo repeated as they popped out of the hay.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER MATCHMAKERS!" they all shouted.

Once Discord's ears had popped back, he dug his claw into the haystack. "Alright, who else is hiding in there?"

He caught some pony by the tail and pulled out a certain wonky-eyed pegasus. Derpy laughed nervously.

"I was, um…looking for a needle!"

"In a haystack?" Applejack questioned.

"Yeah, um…"

She tugged herself out of Discord's grasp and bolted out of the barn. Tammy blinked in confusion and then shook her head.

"Okay, let's get to work."

* * *

Evening was falling and Tammy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were going over table manners with Discord. He had used his magic to set up a table under the gazebo.

"For the last time," Sweetie Belle grunted, "the salad fork is on the outer edge, then the dinner fork and then the dessert fork!"

"What if we don't eat salad?" Discord inquired. "What if she decides to skip the salad and I grab the salad fork by accident?!"

"Does it really matter?" Scootaloo asked, rolling her eyes. "I mean…who really follows dinner etiquette anyway?"

"Forget about the forks," Tammy said. "Let's go over this again. When you take Fluttershy to the table, what do you do?"

"Ooh, I know this one!" Discord exclaimed. "Bow slightly," he demonstrated with Tammy, "take her hoof, lead her to her seat, pull it out for her, wait for her to sit and push it in?"

"Great. And then what do you say to her?"

"Would you like soup or salad?"

"No, _before_ that!"

"Oh yes! You look lovely tonight!"

"Good, good. So after serving the soup or salad…"

"If she wants soup, ask if she wants salt, if salad, dressing."

"And after that?"

"Give her the main course and tell her that I'm glad she came here tonight. Ooh! And that she has beautiful eyes!"

"And just when you're about finished eating?"

"Tell her that I greatly admire her and want to be her special some pony."

"And then?"

"Dessert!"

Tammy grinned at the three fillies. "By George, I think he's got it! Sweetie Belle, you want to practice the song one more time?"

"Nope, I'm good," the unicorn assured her.

"Then I think we're ready."

"_I'm_ not!" Discord protested, clutching his tail. "What if she doesn't like me? What if she hates me for the rest of her life? Ouch!"

Tammy had punched him in the side. "Get a hold of yourself! Of course she'll like you!"

"How do you know?"

"Because she told…" She hung her head. "Fine. Girls, you go get Fluttershy while I take care of the nervous wreck here."

Once the fillies had left, Tammy turned to the draconequus. "Look, even if it doesn't work out between you two, you'll at least still be friends."

"But what if I mess up?" the draconequus squealed. "What if I do something stupid and she thinks I'm an idiot?!"

"You _won't_ mess up. Even if you do, Fluttershy won't care. If you ask me, the girl's crazy about you."

He blinked at her. "You really think so?"

She shrugged. "It's possible. Now pull yourself together and put on a tux!"

He summoned a tuxedo as she instructed, along with a long, thin mustache. Tammy arched an eyebrow.

"I'd lose the mustache."

He sighed. "Fine!"

With a snap of his fingers, it was gone.

"Now," Tammy said. "Here are some last-minute tips. No matter how much you're tempted, do _not_ kiss her on the first date! Unless she leans in first."

Discord gulped. "Kiss? I hadn't thought of that."

"Well, don't. Girls don't like it when guys push them too far, so it's best to save the kissing for later."

"But I've never kissed anyone before! I've had no experience! Maybe I should practice."

Tammy held up her hooves. "Hey, don't look at _me_! Like I said, don't worry about kissing or messing up. You just do what feels right. Just be…well, yourself."

"I thought the point of this was so I could be _less_ myself."

"Well, yeah, but a better version of you. Think back to that moment when you said all those things about Fluttershy and use that emotion when talking to her."

"I can't!"

"Don't worry. The girls and I will be right over there coaching you."

Discord's ears perked up as he heard a soft, familiar voice in the distance: "So what is this animal that's causing trouble?"

"It's…a…" said Apple Bloom as she and the others led her toward the gazebo, "weasel!"

"She's coming!" the draconequus choked. "I can't do this! I'm not ready!"

"Yes, you are!" Tammy said, flying up to lay a hoof on his shoulder. "You can't hide your feelings from her forever. You're making your move _tonight_!"

"I…I just can't!"

He cried out as she tugged on his beard so he would look her in the eye. "Look, you love this girl, right?"

"Y-yes," he stammered.

"You wanna hold her?"

"Yes."

"Please her?"

"Yes!"

"Then what are you waiting for?"

He straightened up. "You're right! I'm the Lord of Chaos! I took over Equestria in a day! If I can do that, I can face one pony!"

"Okay, not exactly what I meant, but whatever works."

Meanwhile, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were fast approaching with Fluttershy.

"Just a little further," Scootaloo beckoned.

"I don't see any weasel," Fluttershy observed, looking in all directions. In doing so, she spotted Discord and the set up at the gazebo. Her eyes grew big. "Girls, what's going…?"

Tammy had to give the draconequus a push. Once he had regained his balance, he bowed to the lovely pegasus.

"Fluttershy, my dear, dear friend! I hope you don't mind, but I've prepared us some dinner!"

"Oh, but would you look at that?" Scootaloo exclaimed. "There are only two chairs!"

"Yeah," Tammy said with a wink. "Well, we had a big lunch, so we're just going to leave you two _alone_."

The three fillies snickered and hastened into the bushes.

"Wait!" Fluttershy whispered, pulling Tammy aside. "What's going on here?"

"What do you mean?" the human batted her eyes innocently. "Doesn't your roommate have dinner with you all the time?"

"But…candles! Flowers! What…?" She gasped. "Did you _tell_ him?"

"What? I didn't tell him anything. This was his idea."

That was partially true, as it was his idea to come to her for advice.

"But…but…"

"Come on, girl. He put a lot of effort into this. Just go along with it."

Fluttershy gulped. "Um, okay."

"Okay, so I'll just go then."

"No, wait! Don't leave me here!"

"Too late!"

Tammy took to the skies and joined the Cutie Mark Crusaders in the bushes when Fluttershy was not looking.

Fluttershy turned to the draconequus, her knees buckling. She had never seen him in a tuxedo before, and she had to admit, he looked dashing. She shook as she tried to get her words out.

"This is…um, very lovely, D-Discord!"

He bowed to her and took her hoof, lightly kissing it. "I did this all for you, my dear."

She blushed. "But what's the occasion?"

"The occasion is _us_. This is a thank you for all you've done for me…as well as an apology for the piñata incident…and, um…all the other incidents. Shall we?"

He guided her to the table and pulled out a chair for her. Once she was seated, he pushed it back in.

"So far, so good," Apple Bloom whispered to the others.

"By the way, Fluttershy," Discord said, "the salad is looking lovely tonight."

He winced and Tammy slapped her forehead.

"I mean, um…would you like some salad, dear?"

"Oh yes," Fluttershy said with a smile. "That would be lovely."

"So are you. I mean…!" Embarrassed, the draconequus quickly teleported to his chair. "Salad it is!"

A covered dish appeared in front of her. The lid rose to reveal a bowl of fresh lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and croutons.

"What kind of dressing, my dear?" Discord inquired.

"Ranch, please," Fluttershy replied.

Her wish was granted and the draconequus summoned a bowl of paper for him to eat. Tammy raised an eyebrow at this, but it did not seem to bother Fluttershy, so she said nothing about it. She picked up her guitar from its hiding place and turned to Sweetie Belle.

"Ready?" she asked, getting her instrument into position.

The unicorn nodded. "Ready."

"Time to set the mood."

Fluttershy looked up when she heard a guitar playing.

"Where's that music coming from?"

"What music?" Discord asked innocently.

"That music! It sounds like a guitar!"

"My dear, you must be hearing things."

He winked at Tammy as she strummed her guitar. She then nodded towards Sweetie Belle, who opened her mouth to sing:

"_I've been alone with you inside my mind_…"

"What the…?" Fluttershy uttered in confusion.

"_And in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times…_"

"Tell me you heard that."

"_I sometimes see you pass outside my door._"

"Hear what?" the draconequus shrugged, munching on his paper as if nothing unusual was happening.

"_Hello…is it me you're looking for?_

_I can see it in your eyes…_"

"But…what?"

Soon Fluttershy found herself staring into Discord's yellow and red eyes.

"_I can see it in your smile._"

He gave her a kind, adoring grin that made her heart pound furiously.

"_You're all I've ever wanted, and my arms are open wide_

'_Cause you know just what to say_

_And you know just what to do…_"

"Fluttershy," Discord whispered, leaning towards her.

"_And I want to tell you so much…_"

"Yeah?" she said absentmindedly.

"_I love you._"

"Look!" Apple Bloom whispered, pointing to the couple as they drew closer.

"Lionel Richie does it again," Tammy smirked.

"Fluttershy," Discord repeated. "I was wondering…would you...?"

Their mouths dropped open as they watched in anticipation. Suddenly, the draconequus moved away.

"Would you like your potatoes mashed or baked?"

"Oh come on!" Sweetie Belle cried.

Fluttershy looked in their direction, but Scootaloo shoved the unicorn back into the bushes before she could see them.

"Mashed, please."

As they moved on to their main course, the four ponies were starting to get bored.

"They haven't said anything for seven minutes!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "When is he going to ask her already?"

"Hush," Tammy whispered, silencing her. "I got this."

She emerged from the bushes and waved her hooves to get Discord's attention. When he finally spotted her, she gestured towards Fluttershy, urging him to make his move. He turned to his date and gulped.

"Um, Fluttershy?"

She looked up from her half-eaten potatoes. "Yes?"

He leaned his elbow onto the table. "Has any pony ever told you that you have…um…?"

He glanced to Tammy for help. She pointed to her head.

"That you have…" Discord continued, "…hair?"

Tammy smacked herself in the forehead. Fluttershy simply raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I believe they have."

"Well, uh…" he stammered. "Have they told you that it's…pink?"

The human groaned and shook her head.

"Pretty!" he blurted. "I meant pretty!"

Fluttershy looked down at her hooves, grinning shyly. "You…think I'm pretty?"

He sighed with relief. "Yes! Very pretty!"

"Oh. No pony's ever called me pretty before."

"Well, they should have. It's not just your hair. You also have pretty…" He looked to Tammy, who gestured to her face. "Nose?" She shook her head and pointed again with both hooves. "Oh, eyes! Yes, you have…" He locked gaze with her and sighed dreamily. "Pretty eyes."

Fluttershy beamed. "Thank…"

"In fact, _everything_ about you is pretty! _Beautiful_, even!"

She met his eyes again. "Beautiful?"

He reached out and gently took her hooves. "I wish I could find a better word, but until then, 'beautiful' is the best I can do."

"I'm really flattered…"

"I love you!"

The words were out before he could stop it. Fluttershy squeaked in shock and Discord covered his mouth once he realized his mistake. He looked to Tammy, who was equally shocked, but urged him to continue. He swallowed hard and summoned all the courage he could muster.

"Yes, I…l-l-love y-y-y-you." He could not remember ever being this tongue-tied. "I think you're…amazing. Not only are you ravishing, but you're sweet and good…"

"I thought that kind of stuff made you sick," Fluttershy said suddenly.

"It did. Before I met you, I had no purpose but to corrupt the world. You've shown me that there's more to life than power. You're my first friend…and first love. I know this must be shocking to you, but I have to let you know. I understand you may never want me in the way I want you, and that I am not worthy of some pony as alluring as you…"

"Discord, I…never knew you felt this way."

"Well, I do. You probably hate me now, don't you?"

"Hate you? Whatever gave you that idea?"

"I don't know, maybe it's because you've been avoiding me lately?"

"Avoiding you?"

"You also get upset every time I use magic!"

"Discord, I have no problem with your magic. It's when you do things like turn ponies into piñatas that I get upset. I love your magic."

He blinked. "You do?"

She blushed. "Yesterday, for instance, when you helped me with breakfast, or last week, when you cleaned my cottage, it's those small generous things you do that I like. And don't get me started on this lovely dinner you prepared. I wish you would do more things like this rather than pulling pranks and changing everything…"

"Changing everything?"

"Remember when you turned my flower garden into lollipops?"

"Oh," he chuckled nervously. "_That_."

"It's not as bad as I make it sound. I just wish you'd appreciate the natural beauty of the world more often instead of trying to change it."

"I _do_ appreciate natural beauty." He vanished from his seat and appeared on his knees beside her. "I wouldn't change a single thing about you."

She glanced away shyly, rubbing her foreleg. "And…I don't really want you to change either…at least, not the good side of you…"

A glimmer of hope appeared in the draconequus' eye. Thinking he was never going to get this chance again, he took her hooves in his hands.

"Fluttershy," he said slowly, "I need to ask you something, before I chicken out."

She met his eyes. "Yes?"

"I know this is cheesy, but…" He took a deep breath. "Will you be my special some pony?"

For a while, Fluttershy could not find the voice to answer. She saw the hope and admiration in his face and did not want to disappoint him. She could not deny to herself that she wanted to say yes, but she thought of what her friends might say. They certainly would not approve and things between them would become complicated.

In the end, she decided she did not care and nodded.

"You will?" Discord asked excitedly.

"Yes," she uttered.

"Yes?"

"Yes!" Sweetie Belle cried.

He pulled her into a passionate embrace. "Oh, thank you, my dear! You have made me the happiest creature alive!"

Tammy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were about to cheer when Discord surprised every pony by pressing his lips against Fluttershy's. They fell silent and gawked, slightly disgusted. When he pulled away, his face fell as he recalled Tammy's warning. He immediately released the stunned pegasus.

"I'm sorry!" he pleaded. "I just…in the spur of the moment, I…"

Fluttershy softly placed her hoof on his lips, quieting him down. She lifted his face towards her and slowly closed the distance between them. Discord's eyes widened in confusion as their lips met again and then he slid them shut. He wrapped his arms around her and dug his claws into her mane. He expected her to pull away, but she showed no signs of resistance.

"Aw!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sighed.

"Yuck!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

Tammy chuckled as she climbed out of the bushes and approached the couple, who pulled away just in time to see her.

"Thank you!" Discord said. "This wouldn't have been possible without you!"

"Aw, it was nothing," she beamed.

"It certainly was something! Why, if I hadn't told you my feelings and asked you for advice, I'd still be on my couch, wallowing in agony!"

"Wait," Fluttershy muttered. "You told Tammy you had feelings for me? _I_ told Tammy I had feelings for _you_!"

"What?" He turned accusingly toward Tammy. "You knew she liked me all along and you didn't tell me?!"

"Hey!" Tammy said defensively. "Both of you wanted to keep it a secret! And it was clear neither of you was going to work up the guts to tell the other, so I just gave you a little push."

"You mean all this time," Discord turned to Fluttershy, "you've liked me back?"

She smiled. "I was afraid, but that doesn't matter now. What does matter is that we're together."

"Oh, Fluttershy."

They began kissing again, making Tammy feel awkward.

"Well, I guess I'll let you lovebirds enjoy the rest of your evening! I'll meet you back at the cottage."

She gathered the Cutie Mark Crusaders and escorted them home. Before she left, she turned back to the couple making out under the gazebo. _I guess I was meant to come here after all._

* * *

As they kissed goodbye on the cottage doorstep, Fluttershy realized that the situation was slightly awkward, considering they lived in the same house. She explained this to Discord.

"How about I go take a walk and come back when you are asleep? That better?"

"I guess so," she shrugged. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he whispered, giving her a peck.

They did not break eye contact until the door was shut. Discord leapt into the air.

"Yes!"

"About time you kids came home," Tammy chuckled as she moved out of the shadows. "I was about to call the cops on you."

Weeping tears of joy, the draconequus picked the disguised human up. "You really are a pal, aren't you?"

"Hey, it was no biggie."

"No biggie? I have the most beautiful pony in the world because of you! You know, now that Fluttershy and I are together, the position for my best friend is open. You interested?"

Tammy pretended to think about it. "Sure, why not?"

He then pulled her into a friendly hug. "I so don't regret bringing you here! And I'm so glad I didn't send you back!"

"You mean you _couldn't_ send me back."

Discord's eyes widened. "Uh, yeah! Sure."

Tammy broke the embrace and looked at him suspiciously. "That _is_ why you didn't send me back, right?"

Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead. "That's right, uh…I _couldn't_ send you back…because my powers weren't working and that's why I didn't send you back…"

He turned his back to her, trying to hide his guilt, but she had already seen it.

"Wait a minute." She paused as she recounted the past few days. "You could have sent me back at any time, couldn't you?"

He tugged at his collar. "I, uh…"

"You faked all that didn't you? Were you _ever_ going to send me home?"

"I…I…"

She shook her head. "God, I'm such an idiot."

He spun around. "Taffy, I can explain…"

"Dude, I _trusted_ you! I thought you were my friend!"

"I _am_ your friend!" He knelt down to her. "Look, I brought you to Equestria because I thought a human would bring mischief to the place." She turned away. "But after I got to know you, I just wanted to be your friend. I don't get that many friends…"

"Gee, I wonder why!"

"You also seemed to like it here and I figured you'd want to stay…"

She shot him a tearful look of betrayal. "You promised you would send me back! You Pinkie Promised!"

It was not the first time this had happened to her. All the instances where her father had promised he would be there for her came flooding back:

"I'll be home in time for your birthday," he had said. "I promise."

Her dad. Her aunts. How could she have forgotten about them?

"My family," she uttered. "You took me away from my family!"

"I thought you hated them!" Discord protested.

Her mouth dropped open. Then she turned and ran.

"Taffy, please! I didn't…" He stiffened once he saw the direction she was running. "Oh no, Taffy!" He teleported behind her and grabbed her tail. "You can't go in there!"

"Leave me alone!" Tammy cried.

"Taf—Tammy! I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you!"

She glared at him. "Leave. Me. ALONE!"

Without warning, a golden light shot out of her chest that sent Discord flying backward. He rubbed his head and stared at her in wonder.

"How did you…?"

But Tammy was so angry that she thought nothing of the occurrence and continued her path to the Everfree Forest.

"Tammy, come back!" the draconequus called out. "Tammy!"

* * *

**Whoa. I cried.**


	12. The Queen's Revenge

**I know you have a lot of questions and they will be answered soon.**

* * *

Hearing Discord's desperate calls, Fluttershy went outside to see what was going on.

"Discord?" she said, flying to his side. "What's all the commotion?"

The draconequus hid his face in his hands. "Oh Fluttershy, I have made a terrible mistake! Tammy has…"

He was cut off as something pinned him to the ground.

"Was it you?!" Pinkie demanded, steam coming out of her ears.

"What are you…?" Discord started to ask.

"My ears are steaming!"

"Huh?"

"That means my Pinkie Sense is telling me that some pony broke a Pinkie Promise!"

"Well, you're Pinkie Sense is rather late, isn't it?"

"So it _was_ you! Apologize!"

Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Spike came panting.

"Finally, she stops!" Rainbow wheezed, collapsing to the ground.

"Pinkie, what's this all about?" Twilight inquired.

"Discord broke a Pinkie Promise!" the pink pony shouted.

Fluttershy turned to the draconequus. "Is this true?"

He bit his lip. "Okay, I'll admit it! I faked it! I faked not being able to send Tammy back! I could have done it at any time, but I didn't!"

The yellow pegasus gasped. "You _lied_ to me?"

"I'm sorry, okay? I thought I was causing chaos and I started liking the human and she helped me get together with you and…"

"Wait," Rarity interrupted. "You and Fluttershy are _together_?!"

"Yes, yes, but that's not important right now!"

"_Excuse_ me?" Fluttershy glared.

"I mean it _is_ important, but Tammy found out that I lied and she got mad and ran off into the Everfree Forest!"

Every pony gasped.

"You idiot!" Rainbow cried. "Why didn't you stop her?"

"I tried, but…something happened. She demanded that I leave her alone and there was this light…it sent me flying backward."

"Really?" Twilight asked, rubbing her chin. "That's strange. I don't remember reading anything about humans having magical abilities."

"They're not supposed to. They think magic is a bunch of hooey. They don't know how to use it."

"Who cares?" Rainbow snapped. "Taffy's out in the Everfree Forest alone! We've got to find her!"

"I think it's time we report to Princess Celestia about this," Twilight suggested.

"No way!" Discord protested.

"Discord, there's a human roaming free in Equestria with no clue as to what is out there. We need all the help we can get."

"Oh, fine! Whatever! Pinkie, would you get off of me?!"

"Oops, sorry," Pinkie apologized, hopping off the draconequus.

"We'll have to split into groups," the alicorn said, leading every pony to the edge of the forest. "Rainbow and Pinkie will search left, Rarity and Applejack will go right and Discord and Fluttershy will go down the middle. After Spike and I have sent the message to Celestia, we will join you. Let's hope Tammy hasn't run into any trouble already."

* * *

Why did everyone lie to her?

"I'll be back in time for your birthday."

"We will be friends forever. Nothing will come between us."

"I'll be back with your birthday cake, honey."

"The accident wasn't your fault, sweetheart."

Lies! They were all lies! And she was a fool to believe them!

She finally stopped and collapsed on the ground and sobbed into her hands. She opened her eyes and remembered they were hooves. She looked up at the dark trees towering over her. Tammy then realized that she did not know where she was. How could she have been so stupid? She had been so intent on getting as far from Discord as possible that she had not paid attention to where she was going.

What was this place? It looked so unnatural and spooky. Did her aunts ever mention a place like this? Their stories were hardly ever scary, save one.

She had been seven years old and it was Halloween. She had invited her friends for a party at her apartment and her aunts were visiting as well. She remembered her best friend Robby frightening her with a rubber spider which he had placed on her shoulder. Aunt Molly had laughed as she prevented Tammy from killing him.

"Don't be scared of spiders, honey," she had said. "They're more afraid of you than you are of them."

"No, they're not," Tammy had argued.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you they're ticklish?"

Then Aunt Megan had gathered everyone to tell some ghost stories, but they were all tired of hearing about ghosts and asked for something different. Molly then had volunteered to tell the story and sat beside her sister.

"Do any of you kids know what a changeling is?"

No one had, but the word had horrified her mother.

"Molly, please. You'll frighten the children."

"I'm not scared, Mommy," Tammy had insisted.

The others had urged Aunt Molly to continue.

"Changelings are shape shifters. They lurk at night, searching for food."

"And they eat little kids, right?" Robby had retorted, looking towards Tammy. "Especially little girls with brown hair!"

She had stuck her tongue out at him.

"No, they're not carnivores," Molly had replied. "They feed off of something very powerful, something that humans cannot live without." She had paused for dramatic effect. "Love."

"Love?" one of the kids had said. "How can they eat love?"

"They take the form of someone you love and feed off your love for them. They drink it like a vampire drinks blood!"

"Have you ever seen a changeling, Aunt Molly?" Tammy had asked.

"Oh yes, the worst and most evil changeling of them all: Queen Chrysalis. It is she who finds food for her subjects. One day, she kidnapped me and took my form and tried to…"

Her mother had interrupted. "That's enough, Molly!"

That story had given Tammy nightmares for months, until she realized that it was just a story. However, considering how much of her aunts' stories had proved to be true so far, she wondered to what degree that one had been true.

Everything about this forest gave her the chills. She considered flying above the trees to find a way out, but she was so tired from running that she curled up into a ball. She wanted to go home. She wanted to walk on two legs again. She wished she had never come to Equestria.

"Tammy?"

She looked up as a familiar voice entered her ears.

"Tammy?" it called again.

She could not believe it. "Aunt Megan?"

She turned in the direction of the voice, seeing a figure emerge from the trees. It stepped into the light, revealing it to be exactly who she thought it was.

"Tammy, thank goodness!"

The teenager stood up. "Aunt Megan!"

Overjoyed, she rushed to her aunt and nuzzled her head against her. Megan wrapped her arms around her and gently stroked her hair.

"I missed you so much!" Tammy exclaimed. "How did you recognize me?"

"You look just like your mother, even as a pony."

Her eyes shot open in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"You still have her brown hair and hazel eyes."

Tammy shrugged it off but then grew suspicious. "Wait. How did you even get here?"

"I came on the rainbow, of course."

She looked up at her aunt. "But I thought you said the rainbow was destroyed."

Megan's smile wavered. "I was wrong, honey. Now let's get you home. Your father is very worried about you."

Tammy blinked. "My dad's at the farm?"

"Of course, honey. He's always there for you."

Her eyes widened and she slowly backed out of the woman's embrace. Something was not right.

"So…Dad's there?"

"Yes," the woman said, attempting to hold her again.

Tammy stepped back. "And Aunt Megan?"

"Yes."

"And my cat? Fluffy?"

The woman paused. "Yes. Now come along, dear."

Tammy narrowed her eyes at her. "You're not my aunt."

"What are you talking about, sweetie? Of course, I'm your aunt."

"No, you're not."

"You've been through a lot, sweetheart. Come with me and everything will be all…"

"I don't _have_ a cat named Fluffy."

The imposter stopped in her tracks and glared at Tammy.

"You humans are smarter than you look."

A green light enveloped her and the woman transformed into the most ghastly creature Tammy had ever seen. She was in the shape of an alicorn, but her wings were insect-like, her horn was like an antler and her legs were like Swiss cheese. Her sleek body was black and her messy blue hair was like cobwebs. On her head sat a small crown. It did not take long for Tammy to deduce who this was.

"Queen Chrysalis."

The creature smirked. "So you've heard of me."

The teenager attempted to hide her fear and stood defiantly. "You bet I have! You're the queen of the changelings!"

"And you're the offspring of that meddlesome boy and his little mare friend!"

Her horn started glowing and Tammy tried to make a run for it, but a sticky green substance was splattered on her hooves, rooting her to the ground.

"It's been a long time since a human has been in Equestria," Chrysalis mused, circling the girl.

"How did you know?" Tammy inquired.

"One of my scouts saw Discord turn you into a pony." She lifted the girl's chin. "The resemblance between you and your mother is uncanny, except you're green."

Tammy wrenched her head away. "What are you talking about? My mother never set foot in Equestria!"

The changeling threw her head back in a laugh. "I see! They didn't tell you, did they?"

"Didn't tell me what?"

"Interesting how they told you all about me but not of your mother!"

"Shut up and get me out of this!"

"Ah, yes. You are just as stubborn as your parents. Tell me, did they tell you about our little encounter thirty years ago?" Tammy said nothing. "I didn't think so. Well, my dear, the arrival of your aunts and father was an interesting development for me. They talked of a world with no magic. If we could make our way into that world, there would be nothing to stop us! So we kidnapped the youngest of the bunch and I took her form, but your progenitors weren't so easily fooled. I was this close to entering your world!

"But those meddlesome humans, _and_ your annoying mother, found a way to stop me! And that Celestia destroyed the rainbow, the only way into your world! Now I can have my revenge on you humans as well as find food for my subjects!"

"Yeah, that's a sad story and all, but might I ask a question?"

Chrysalis groaned in annoyance. "What?"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"So that you may know why you must be destroyed."

"Wait, what?"

She shrieked as the green ooze inched up her legs.

"Once we have successfully traveled to the human world," Chrysalis explained, "you won't be of use to us anymore. That substance will encase your body completely and will suffocate you in a matter of minutes! Don't worry. I'll tell your dear old daddy what happened to you."

"You're nuts!" Tammy cried.

"If that's what you consider an insult, it's a feeble attempt. Moth! Cobweb!"

Two changelings Tammy's size appeared at their ruler's side.

"Make sure she does not escape." One of them buzzed something in her ear. "Yes, you may feed off of her. She won't last long anyway."

The lieutenants cackled and hovered beside Tammy. Chrysalis' horn glowed and she began to shrink. Soon she looked just like Tammy.

"I'll make sure your friends get a proper goodbye," she said in the girl's voice.

Tammy tried to yank herself free as her double took to the skies, cackling maliciously.

"You leave my friends and family alone!" she shouted. "You monster!"

As she squirmed, the ooze reached the end of her legs. It would only be a matter of time before it would close at the top of her head.

* * *

**Yep. Chrysalis is the villain here. Well hey, why not?**


	13. Special

**At the pace I'm going, I think I'll be done with this pretty soon. By the way, this is my first time writing Chrysalis so go easy on me.**

* * *

"Tammy!" Applejack called as she and Rarity trudged down their path. "Tammy, ya out there?"

"Taffy!" Pinkie shouted, bouncing through the forest while Rainbow Dash flew over.

"Tammy?" Discord cried out, lifting a stone. "You under there?"

Neither of them was having any luck finding their lost friend. The draconequus slumped to the ground.

"This is all my fault!"

Fluttershy laid a hoof on his paw. "Don't worry. We'll find her."

"Hey, guys!" Rainbow yelled from above. "I see her!"

Discord and Fluttershy flew up to the blue pegasus and glanced in the direction she was pointing. Sure enough, the human turned pegasus was hovering slightly above the trees.

"Tammy!" Discord exclaimed.

She looked up as the draconequus tackled her to the ground in a hug.

"I'm so, so sorry I lied to you! I didn't mean to keep you here. I mean I did, but not for too long!"

Tammy snickered. "It's okay, Discord."

"Geez, dude!" Rainbow cried as she and Fluttershy joined them on the ground. "Don't scare us like that!"

Pinkie hopped out of the trees. "Yay, you found her!"

"I'm going to get the others."

As the pegasus zoomed into the sky, Tammy wriggled out of Discord's grasp.

"I'm sorry I ran off," she said, batting her eyes.

"It's mostly my fault," the draconequus insisted.

"Tammy!" Rarity shouted as she came out of the dark, followed by Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "Thank goodness you're safe!"

"Are you alright?" Applejack inquired.

Tammy nodded. "I'm fine, though being in this forest has made me homesick." She turned to the draconequus expectantly. "Discord, I think it's time you sent me back."

"What?" he uttered. "Already?"

"Yeah. I need to get back to my dad. He's probably worried sick."

"Well, okay." Discord was about to snap his fingers but paused. "Hold on. Did you just say your _dad_ was worried?"

"Of course. I'm his daughter. He cares about me more than anything."

The draconequus blinked. "You sure you're alright?"

Tammy scowled. "Of course, I am, you nitwit! I mean…" She smiled innocently. "Yes, I've never felt better."

"But your _dad_ is…?"

"You going to send me home or what?!"

Discord examined her more closely and then smirked. "Oh, I'll send you back, alright…to the Changeling Forest!"

"Hey!" the girl cried out as he picked her up by the tail. "Put me down, you fool!"

"You _really_ got to work on your acting skills, Chrysalis."

"Chrysalis?" every pony gasped.

The imposter narrowed her eyes and transformed back into the queen of the changelings.

"Nice to see you again, Dissy dear."

"A pleasure," Discord groaned.

"You know her?" Fluttershy questioned, shivering.

"We crossed paths once."

"That was before you turned into a fluffy do-gooder," Chrysalis taunted. Her ears perked up and she turned to Fluttershy. "What's this? Oh, how precious! The Lord of Chaos has fallen in love with a wimpy, little pegasus!"

She yelped as he shook her. "You insult her one more time and you're toast! Literally! What have you done with Tammy?"

"The pony-human? She's alive, for now."

"If you hurt her…"

"You'll do what? Kill me in front of your girlfriend? Ha! That would be impossible. You think I would have come here without a backup plan?"

She put her hoof to her mouth and whistled. A loud buzz filled the air. Every pony looked up to see an army of changeling swarming towards them. Discord was so surprised that he dropped the queen on her head. He lifted his fingers to snap, but they were frozen in place as Chrysalis blasted them with ooze. He tried the other hand, but she was too quick for him.

"Forget it!" he said defiantly. "I don't need to snap my fingers!"

Without warning, Discord was thrown back into a tree by the queen's magic.

"Discord!" Fluttershy cried, flying to his side.

He groaned as she lifted his head. The blow had knocked him unconscious. Fluttershy darted her eyes at Chrysalis.

"How dare you?!"

The queen only laughed. "If we can't feast on the human world, then we will feast on you instead! And this time, Cadence and Shining Armor won't be able to save you!" She looked up at the swarm. "Help yourselves, my loyal subjects! But the draconequus is mine!"

The insect-like creatures had the ponies surrounded while their leader approached Discord. Fluttershy held his head protectively.

"Don't you touch him!" she spat.

"And what can you do?" Chrysalis cackled. "You have no magic, no defenses!" She sighed contently. "Oh, keep hovering over him. Your emotion is practically leaping into my stomach!"

Fluttershy nudged her love gently. "Discord, wake up!"

"Yes, continue! I can feel myself getting stronger by the second!"

"Please, wake up! Discord!"

* * *

The ooze was now up to her neck. Her guards were amusing themselves by turning into her loved ones repeatedly. She could feel herself growing weaker as they fed off her.

_You tell me about changelings but not how to defeat them?_ Tammy thought furiously. _Thanks a lot, Aunt Molly!_

Any moment now, she would be completely covered. She had never given much thought to dying. Would it be painful? Would her mother be waiting for her at the pearly gates? If heaven did exist, that is.

She then thought of her mother and wished she was here to comfort her. She had always known what to do. She remembered what she had said when Tammy had been bullied at school:

"Don't you mind what they say, honey. You are special, more than you could believe. What they think of you does not matter. What does matter is how much your father, your aunts and I love you."

A tear fell down her cheek. Suddenly, a powerful feeling welled up inside of her. When she opened her eyes, the guards were shocked to see that they had turned white. A light emitted from her chest and expanded, breaking her prison and pushing the changelings back. Tammy blinked when her eyes returned to normal and glanced around.

"What the heck?"

Then she remembered that her friends were in danger and launched herself into the air.

* * *

The changelings had bound Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie together in green goo, while Chrysalis had encased Fluttershy and the still unconscious draconequus into a cocoon.

"You won't get away with this!" Rainbow cried, kicking furiously.

"Scream all you want!" the queen cackled. "No pony can hear you!"

"Except me!"

Chrysalis gasped as Tammy landed in front of her.

"How did you escape?"

"Doesn't matter. Now release my friends and go back to hell!"

She laughed. "You humans really are amusing!"

She shot a beam at her, but Tammy dodged it. "Come and get me, ugly!"

"Why, you little…"

She fired at her again, but the teenager avoided her shots easily. "You shoot like a girl!"

Her taunting distracted her long enough for Chrysalis to hit her. Tammy cried out as she was knocked into a tree. She fell limply to the ground. The queen of the changelings laughed in triumph.

"Yes, amusing, but also completely useless."

Tammy struggled to get up, but she was so weak. For a moment, she thought she was done for, but then a thought occurred to her. She faced the changeling defiantly.

"If humans are so useless, then how did my parents manage to defeat you?"

Chrysalis stopped in her tracks, fear flickering on her face. "They got lucky! I thought you would be a challenge just like them, but you really are worthless!"

"Then why were you so eager to get rid of me?"

She paused again.

"What is it about me that you find so threatening?"

Chrysalis shook her head. "You're no threat to me!"

Tammy thought back to what she had done a couple of minutes ago and realized that she had done something similar to Discord. What had that been all about? Did Chrysalis know the answer?

If she could repeat whatever it was she did, she might have a chance. She closed her eyes and thought. What could have caused that light to come out of her? The first time, she had wanted to get away from Discord. The second time, she had wanted to break free. Then she recalled that both times, she had been very emotional. Maybe if she channeled that emotion…

"Enough stalling!" Chrysalis bellowed. "It's time I finish you off, but first, I'll let you watch your friends suffer!"

Eyes still shut, Tammy gritted her teeth. "No one hurts my friends!" Her eyes snapped open as they turned white. "_No one_!"

Every pony gasped as a great pulse of light surged out of her body.

"No!" Chrysalis cried. "Not again!"

The light hit the queen and the other changelings hard, sending them hurdling out of the forest and back to their hive. The green substance disintegrated, setting the ponies free. Discord cried out as his head hit the ground. He looked in time to see the light die down and Tammy's eyes return to normal.

"What happened?" he asked, rubbing his head. "Oomph!"

Fluttershy had flung her hooves around his neck. "I thought I lost you!"

His eyes widened as she abruptly pressed her lips against his and then sighed contently. The others cringed in discomfort before turning to the human.

"How did you do that?" Applejack marveled.

"I thought humans couldn't do magic," Rarity said.

Tammy shrugged. "They don't. This hasn't happened before today. I have no idea how I did that."

"I think I can explain."

Every pony looked up to see a tall white alicorn hovering above them, Twilight and Spike at her side. As they floated down, every pony, including Discord bowed. Tammy followed their example. The majestic alicorn walked up to the girl and lifted her chin to have a better look at her.

"So you're the human, I see," she observed. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Princess Celestia, chief ruler of Equestria."

"Oh," Tammy uttered, poking her hoof into the ground. "I'm sorry I entered your country illegally, your majesty."

Celestia laughed. "That is quite alright. I understand it was not your intention." She leaned forward and examined the girl. "It's incredible how much you resemble your mother."

"You knew my mother?"

"And your father and your aunts."

"You knew humans existed?" Twilight inquired.

"Yes, but I had to destroy the bridge between our world and theirs, because it proved to be dangerous. It had nothing to do with you humans."

"Chrysalis told me," Tammy explained. "But…there's so much I don't understand. My aunts never said anything about my mom in Equestria, and she never talked about it. And…what was that thing I did just now?"

"I think the best way to answer your questions is to show you." Celestia turned to the draconequus. "Discord, I need you to take us into the past, but only to observe."

He looked at the group. "All of you?"

"Yes. I think they all need to see this."

"Um, okay, but when?"

She whispered in his ear and Discord nodded, still confused. Then he snapped his fingers and transported them all.

* * *

**Don't worry. All will be explained in the next chapter.**


	14. Journey to the Past

**Once again, this was kind of rushed.**

* * *

When they rematerialized, they were blue and white, like ghosts. They were in some sort of woods near a patch of flowers. Sniffing those flowers was a light pink pegasus with brown hair and three blossoms for a cutie mark. Tammy could not help but think she had seen her somewhere before.

"Where are we?" Rainbow asked. "Who's that?"

"We're in the past," Discord explained. "But we're only observing, so no pony can hear or see us. I have no idea who that is. Why did you want me to bring us here?"

"This is a very important moment in history," Celestia clarified.

"But I've never seen that pony anywhere in history books," Twilight said.

"It isn't anywhere in history books, for it was kept private for obvious reasons."

"So who is she then?"

"She looks like _you_, Taffy!" Pinkie Pie piped. "Only she's pink and has a different cutie mark."

Rainbow scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, Pinkie. That pony looks nothing like her."

"I don't know, Rainbow," Applejack said, squinting. "The resemblance is uncanny."

"She even has the same mane," Rarity observed, "only cleaner."

Tammy watched the pink pegasus in wonder. She _did_ kind of look similar to her in pony form. Suddenly, there was a loud cry and something fell out of the trees. The pegasus shrieked and spun around.

"She even has the same eyes," Applejack marveled.

The creature on the ground was a human boy around eleven or twelve years old. He had a freckled face, red hair, blue eyes and a baseball cap. Tammy recognized the boy from the old family photos.

"That's my dad."

The pink pegasus was still screaming. "Who are you? _What_ are you?!"

The boy held up his hands. "Whoa, easy girl! I'm friendly! Ouch!"

She started whamming him in the head with a watering can.

"Hey, hey! Ow! I come in peace!"

She paused and scrutinized him. "What were you doing in the tree?"

He stood up to his full height. "I was climbing it. I didn't know this was your spot."

"I've never seen anything like you before."

"I'm a boy, a human boy. Wow. I didn't know horses had wings."

"I'm a _pony_ and what do you mean you've never seen a pony with wings?"

"I just got here. I'm friends with Apple Cider and Orange Seed."

Applejack gasped. "My parents!"

The pegasus softened a little. "Okay, say you're telling the truth. Why should I believe you?"

"Apple Cider wears a cowboy hat and has a big pitcher on his butt. Orange Seed has a picture of seeds and is very prissy."

"You could have just spotted them on your way here."

"I'll prove to you I'm friendly. Uh…what pony can jump higher than a house?"

She seemed not to know the answer. "I give up."

"All ponies. Houses don't jump."

She clutched her stomach and laughed. "Okay, that was pretty funny!"

The boy held out his hand. "I'm Danny, by the way."

She placed her hoof in his hand and blushed. "Nice to meet you, Danny. My name is Peasella Irene Blossom."

He snickered. "Peasella? What kind of a name is that?"

She folded her forelegs across her chest. "Hey, we don't get to pick our names! My friends call me Pease Blossom."

Applejack and Tammy shared a look.

"Nah, that still sounds weird. How about I just call you Irene?"

Tammy's mouth dropped open. She knew why this scene sounded familiar and why the pegasus resembled her.

"What's wrong, Sugar Cube?" Applejack asked.

"That…that…that's…my mom."

"What?" every pony exclaimed.

"Mom's maiden name was Irene Blossom. This is how she said she met Dad. But…she's a…pony?"

"You never told us you were part pony!" Pinkie said accusingly.

"I…didn't know."

"There's more you need to see," Celestia declared.

She whispered to Discord again. He snapped his fingers and the scene changed. They were in a field where Danny and Pease Blossom were playing with a group of other ponies and a tall blonde girl in green overalls. Tammy knew immediately that was her Aunt Megan. Rainbow Dash gasped when she saw a purple pegasus stallion with a multi-colored mane.

"That's _my _dad!"

Applejack was gawking in the other direction. "And those are my parents."

A yellow redheaded stallion wearing a cowboy hat was rolling around in the dirt. An orange mare with her blonde hair tied into a braid was watching with disgust.

"Really, Apple Cider," she whined. "You look like a pig rolling around in the dirt like that!"

"Oh, you city ponies are no fun!" Apple Cider laughed in a southern accent.

"I refuse to see how getting dirty counts as fun."

"You sure that's your mom and not Rarity's?" Tammy whispered.

"Ma's from Manehattan," Applejack explained, tears coming to her eyes.

"Hey, Megan!" Apple Cider called. "Tell Miss Prissy here that there's nothin' wrong with gettin' dirty!"

The teenage girl laughed as she walked over to them. "Must you two pick at each other every single time?"

"I'll bet ya twenty bits that they'll get married," Rainbow's father murmured.

"No way!" the two protested at the same time.

Orange Seed let out a shriek as it started to rain. Everyone looked around and it appeared to only be raining on them. They glanced up to see a blonde white pegasus with black balloons on her flank jumping on top of a raincloud.

"Surprise!" Orange Seed screamed. "You're getting my hooves all muddy!"

They heard laughter behind them. Danny was rolling in the grass.

"Great job, Surprise! I told you that would get them good!"

"Danny!" Megan scowled.

"Come on, can't you guys take a joke?"

Tammy tilted her head. "That _can't_ be my dad. He was _never_ able to take a joke."

"Really?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "_That's_ what's wrong with this picture?"

The white pegasus snorted with laughter. "You were right, Danny. This _is_ fun!"

"Knock it off, Surprise!" a magenta unicorn commanded.

"Don't make me come up there!" Rainbow's father warned.

"Okay, okay! Geez!"

As Surprise flew the raincloud out of sight, a small blonde girl in pink overalls appeared over the hill.

"Molly!" Megan exclaimed, rushing toward her. "Where have you been?"

"I was exploring," the young Molly said.

"Well, it's getting late. Mom and Dad will want us home soon."

"Do you have to go already?" Pease Blossom asked disappointingly.

"Sorry, guys, but we have a curfew."

Tammy knew something was wrong when the younger version of her Aunt Molly smiled maliciously. Megan took her hand.

"Come on. Let's hope the rainbow didn't disappear again."

"That's Queen Chrysalis, isn't it?" Tammy concluded, recognizing the smile.

Celestia nodded. "Perhaps we should move this along."

The scene fast forwarded like a video cassette and when it continued, the entire valley was covered in changelings. The magenta unicorn tried to hold them off with her magic, but there were too many. Megan held Molly protectively as the army closed in on them. Chrysalis moved in on the two who had tried to escape: Danny and Pease Blossom huddled against a tree.

"You have nowhere to run, little ones!" the queen cackled. "Now that I know the way into the human world, I have no use for you anymore!"

The pegasus turned to the boy. "Danny, if we don't make it out of this, I just want you to know…I've never had a friend like you."

Danny held her tighter. "Same here, Irene."

The closed their eyes and waited for Chrysalis' blow. Suddenly, a light emitted from them, causing the queen to step back in shock.

"What's this?"

The light expanded and threw all the changelings back, just as Tammy had done earlier.

"I don't understand," Twilight uttered.

"You remember how Cadence and Shining Armor defeated the changelings?" Celestia asked. "It was their love that gave them the power."

"So I'm half horse?" Tammy inquired, still not believing this. "Shouldn't I be a centaur or something? And why did my mom always look human?"

"Discord, fast forward please."

When the scene played at normal speed again, another Princess Celestia was speaking to the three humans as they stood at the end of a rainbow. Tammy noticed that she looked exactly the same.

"You mean we can't ever come back?" Molly asked in disbelief.

"I'm afraid so, young one," past Celestia confirmed. "It is too dangerous to allow this bridge between our worlds to exist. Chrysalis will not give up and who knows what will happen if others discover this? Once you three have returned home safely, I will have this destroyed."

The humans said their goodbyes to their pony friends and prepared to leave.

"Wait!"

Everyone turned as Pease Blossom approached the princess.

"Your highness, I want to go with them."

Danny's eyes widened. "Don't take this the wrong way, Irene, but ponies don't talk in our world."

"Then I guess I'll have to be a human then."

"Are you certain this is what you want, child?" Celestia inquired.

She nodded. "I have no family here and I want to be with Danny."

Danny knelt down to her. "You belong here, Irene."

She hugged him around the waist. "I belong with you."

The princess looked to the others. "Any pony else wish to go?" They said nothing. "Very well, Pease Blossom. I shall grant your wish." She placed her glowing horn on the pony's forehead. "When you reach the other end of the rainbow, you will be human."

The present Celestia nodded to Discord, assuring him they had seen enough. He transported them back to the present.

"Now you know," the princess told Tammy. "The reason you have such power is that you are a child of two worlds, as well as a product of true love."

"Any pony else find this slightly disconcerting?" Rainbow wondered aloud.

"I have kept my eye on your family all these years, to see how they were doing. When you were born, I watched to see if you showed any special abilities."

"But I've never done anything like that before," Tammy pointed out.

"The magic inside you must have been triggered once you embraced the side of you that was equine."

The girl turned to Discord. "Did you know about this?"

The draconequus shook his head. "It was just by chance that I found you. By the way, there's nothing wrong with being part pony. I mean look how I turned out!"

"So how do I control this power?"

"I would be happy to teach you," Celestia offered, "but I believe you have another engagement."

Tammy understood. "My family."

The princess nodded. The human turned to her friends, who had tears in their eyes. They scooped her into a group hug.

"We'll miss you," Pinkie sniffed.

"I'll miss you too," Tammy said, returning their hug. "You've all been wonderful, but my family needs me."

"Promise you'll come back soon!"

She smiled. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Fluttershy pulled away. "You've been a great houseguest _and_ matchmaker. If it hadn't been for you, Discord and I wouldn't have gotten together."

"And you were oh so wonderful to my sister!" Rarity exclaimed. "Did I mention she got her cutie mark right after you brought her home?"

"She did?" Tammy inquired. "She's a singer, right?"

The unicorn nodded. "She might have _never_ realized her special talent without your help!"

"You make a pretty swell pegasus, kid," Rainbow complimented.

"When you come back," Twilight said, "make sure to tell me as much about your world as possible!"

"And bring some apples," Applejack chuckled. "I'd like to see if they're as good as ours."

After receiving another hug from them, Tammy faced the princess.

"I'm ready to go home now."

"Discord," the princess said, "you know what to do."

"But can't she…?" Celestia glared at him. He sighed. "Alright."

He snapped his fingers and teleported him and Tammy to a grassy hill. Her eyes lit up at the sight of her aunts' farm. She was about to run towards it when she realized she still had hooves.

"Uh, Discord?"

"What?" he shrugged. "You look better as a pony."

She narrowed her eyes at him. He finally gave in and transformed her back into her human self. Tammy had never been so relieved to have fingers.

"You sure you don't want to stay in Equestria?" Discord asked. "It may be boring, but it's not so bad, once you get used to it."

She grinned at him. "This is my home."

He sighed. "I understand. Sorry I roped you into this mess."

"That's okay. It was kind of fun. Besides, if you hadn't brought me to Equestria, I would not have discovered who I really was."

They stared at each other for a long moment, until the human abruptly flung her arms around the draconequus. Still not used to hugs, he glanced down at her in shock.

"I'll miss you," she sobbed.

Discord smiled and returned the embrace. "I'll miss you too, pal."

She pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Good luck with Fluttershy."

"Yeah, thanks again." He rubbed the back of his neck. "So I guess I'll see you later then?"

Tammy waved. "Goodbye."

She remained standing there even after the draconequus had vanished. She had no idea when she was going to see him or the others again. Then she remembered that she was home and raced down the hill.

"Aunt Molly! Aunt Megan!"

Inside, the two sisters were sitting at the kitchen table sipping tea, neither of them being able to sleep. Their heads shot up when they heard their niece's voice.

"Tammy?" Megan uttered.

Molly rushed to the back door and opened it to see her coming towards them.

"Tammy!"

The teenager embraced her aunts as they held her tight.

"Oh, thank goodness you're safe!" Molly exclaimed.

"I missed you guys so much!" Tammy sniffed.

"Where on Earth have you been?" Megan inquired.

"You guys won't believe this. I was…"

"Tammy?"

She trailed off as her father appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Her aunts moved away from her. For a long while, the father and daughter did nothing but stand and stare.

"Dad?"

He rushed to her and took her in his arms. "Thank God! Oh, my precious girl!"

"Dad?" Tammy said again. "What are you doing here?"

"When I heard you were gone, I took the next flight home!" He stepped back and gave her a stern look. "Now where the hell have you been, young lady?!"

* * *

Once Tammy had finished telling them everything, the three adults were silent.

"So…" her father said. "You know about your mother?"

The girl nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We didn't know how to. Telling your daughter she's part pony is not a topic they discuss in parental guides. Irene also wanted to keep her origins private. After the incident with the changelings, she wanted to forget her first life as much as possible. It also didn't seem relevant to tell you, because you seemed so human. I guess I was wrong. Irene always said you were special."

He looked at her seriously. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you lately, hon. Since your mother died, I haven't been really open. You also look so much like her that it hurt me every time I looked at you. Hearing that you were missing made me realize how much I took you for granted. I miss your mother, we all do, but how can I be sad when I have the best gift she ever gave me?"

He put his arm around her and she buried her face into his shoulder.

"I haven't really been that open either," Tammy confessed. "Hanging out with ponies has made me realize that." She looked to her aunts. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

Molly shrugged. "Eh, we didn't expect you to. Though did you really take on the queen of the changelings all by yourself?"

Megan shook her head. "We really have a special girl here."

Tammy sighed contently as her aunts joined in the hug. She had never felt so happy, because now, she was home with her loving family.

* * *

**You might have noticed I made a lot of references to G1. There's one more chapter to go.**


	15. Epilogue

**This had started out as practice for writing for this fandom, but it was actually kind of fun. Don't know whether I should make a sequel or not. Anyway, here's the final chapter and thank you for your continuing support.**

**BTW, if you came here because of Fluttercord, you should read my other fic _Bride of Discord_. It's a long multi-chapter drama on the couple and it's also my best and most popular fic.**

* * *

When Tammy woke up, she felt new. At first she thought it was because she had learnt of her other half, but then she remembered that it was her birthday. She was sixteen years old. And what was better, her dad was here to celebrate it!

She was met downstairs with a cheerful greeting and a stack of pancakes. Their breakfast was interrupted when a certain draconequus materialized in the middle of the table. Megan and Molly squealed, while Daniel jumped back in shock.

"Howdy, Taffy!" Discord waved.

"Discord!" Tammy exclaimed. "What…?"

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your folks?"

"Oh, right. Dad, Aunt Molly, Aunt Megan, this is my friend Discord, the guy I told you about. Discord, this is my family."

The draconequus turned to Daniel. "You're the dude that married the pegasus, right?"

"Uh…" the man uttered.

"I just have to know. Is it worth it?"

"So…" Megan stammered. "What brings you here, Discord?"

"Oh yes, of course! Actually, I came here for Taffy, but since you're all here…"

He snapped his fingers and transported the lot.

"What the…?" Daniel started to say.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

They were at Sugar Cube Corner, which had been blasted with birthday decorations. Tammy looked at her family and saw that they had been turned into pegasi as well. Dad was dark blue with a picture of a business chart on his flank, Megan was dark green with a saddle cutie mark and Molly was pink with a picture of a barn.

"Finally!" Molly exclaimed. "We get to see what it's like to fly!"

"Surprise!" Pinkie Pie shouted, popping up into Tammy's face. "You like it?"

"Pinkie, this is incredible!" the teenager marveled. "How'd you know it was my birthday?"

"Discord told me!"

The draconequus shrugged. "I did a little digging."

The other five ponies greeted their human friend with a hug and Tammy introduced everybody. Megan and Molly took a liking to Applejack and were thrilled that Apple Cider and Orange Seed had tied the knot, but were also sad that they had passed on. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash reminded Daniel of how much fun he used to have as a kid. Altogether, everyone was having a good time at the party.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders raced up to Tammy.

"Look!" Sweetie Belle cried, pointing to her flank. On it was a picture of a pink bell being rung by a purple musical note. "After you made me sing for Discord and Fluttershy, I realized how much I love singing and that I can write romantic songs for couples!"

"And look at this!" Scootaloo said, showing her picture of a red scooter. "You were right! My scooter tricks _are_ what make me special!"

Apple Bloom hung her head. "I wish I knew what made _me_ special."

"Have you tried painting?" Tammy suggested.

"Come to think of it, no. Maybe I should try it."

Every pony quieted down and bowed as Princess Celestia entered the room.

"Your highness!" Megan exclaimed.

"It has been a long time, old friends," the ruler said. She turned to Daniel. "I'm sorry about Pease Blossom. She had a noble heart."

"Don't I know it," he sighed.

"And I have a birthday gift for you, Tammy."

"You mean _I _have a birthday gift," Discord corrected. "I made it after all."

"Discord," Fluttershy warned. "Be modest."

He snapped his fingers and a golden heart-shaped necklace appeared in his paw. He knelt down and put it around Tammy's neck. She took the medallion in her hoof and examined it. On one side was the silhouette of a pony and on the other side was that of a human girl.

"Whenever you wish to visit Equestria," Celestia explained, "wear this necklace and tell it where you wish to go. You can also use it to return to your world. When you come here, you will be a pony and when you're in your world, you will be human. So you can visit your friends any time you like."

Tammy smiled up at the princess. "Thank you so much, your highness. This is the best gift I could ask for." She turned to her friends and family. "This has also been the best birthday ever!"

The ponies cheered and lifted her into the air.

"_For she's a jolly good pony,_" they sang, "_for she's a jolly good pony, for she's a jolly good pony…that no pony can deny!_"

At that moment, Tammy considered herself the luckiest girl in the universe. She had good friends, a loving family and the key to travel between worlds.

Her mother would have been proud.


End file.
